How would you Like Your TEA Mr Kaiba?
by Andi-Chan
Summary: Tea's dreams were shattered one day when she was rejected form Julliard. Now she has become a maid and a babysitter. BUT she didn't know that she would be working for a certian coldhearted and Arrogant CEO... All New Chapter Chapter 12: Tea Steps up!
1. Seto Kaiba and the Cheerleader

**Chapter 1: Seto Kaiba and the Cheerleader**

_Disclaimer: Roses are red, Violets are blue, I don't own Yu-gi-oh So please don't sue!_

_(A/N) I am curently revising all of my chapters ..._

_Tea (17 and a half) Seto (18 and a half) Mokuba (11)_

_Dance. _

_That one word defines a lot. Well...a lot about me, that is. I am a dancer...was a dancer. _

_Until the day that my dreams were shattered._

_I danced my heart and soul out for the audition. I paid all of the expenses while hanging onto the false dream that I would get into the world famous school for dancing, Julliard._

_Even after that, after all of that hard work, this is the result:_ _"Tea, you have potential, just not enough to reach the expectations of this school. Try again when you are more experienced."_

_Each word was a needle piercing in my heart again and again. I had nothing left to do and was in a state of depression for sometime. Trying and trying to apply for jobs, but it seemed that the only talent that I had was dancing._

Téa closed her diary and sighed. It was 8:30 am and she had to start another day of job interviews. She was being interviewed to become some little boy's babysitter (probably being a snotty rich-boy), and a maid on the weekends. But the bonus to this job was that she got to stay in the mansion until the time that she resigned or got fired.

She slipped out of her nightgown and put on a plain pink blouse and a rather short white skirt, then pulled her hair in a ponytail. Her hair had grown a lot in the last few years, now reaching past her shoulders, tickling them whenever a stray wind waved the brown locks in the air. She turned off the light and slipped on pink high heels, then turned off the last light left on and walked out of her apartment.

Though it was very windy outside, she assumed that she didn't need a jacket. How very wrong she was...

Seto Kaiba was sitting in his obviously expensive limo, the driver perhaps taking him to his office to do work, perhaps to spend some quality time yelling at his servants-uh, I mean employees. But despite that cold, emotionless facade on his face, it was clear that he was far from happy. His brother's babysitter, one of his many rabid fangirls, had tried to weasel information about him from Mokuba. The memory made him sigh in frustration. He rubbed his forehead in aggravation. How many had he gone through in the last month that had done the same thing? Not only that, but one of his personal maids had been leaking information to one of his rival companies. She was punished severely, of course, what else would you expect from the him? But regardless, he had lost two of his employees in one day. And that was not a good thing.

He turned his head and looked out the window absentmindedly, and was he surprised at what he saw. There, wandering the town, in nothing but a blouse and skirt, was Tea Gardner.

_**Flashback**_

_Kaiba was standing on the ledge of Pegasus's tower. Yugi was staring at him, lost for words._

_"If you attack again, you'll take my life in the next round. I'm willing to die in a duel," Kaiba says flatly, gazing at Yugi, who still had nothing to say. He continued._

_"And if I were you, I'd push my enemy to the bottom of the mountain without hesitation."_

_Yugi seemed to be having an argument inside himself. The geek squad waited in suspense. Finally, it seemed as if Yugi forced himself to cry, "Celtic Guardian, attack!"_

_The monster raced forward, its sword raised..._

_"Yugi! Please stop!"_

_The scream shot through the air like a bullet. Tea was running towards Yugi._

_"Yugi, please! This isn't right!"_

_Yugi stopped the attack. The Celtic Guardian slowed down to a halt, then retreated back to its spot on the board. Yugi fell to his knees._

_"Blue Eyes, attack Yugi's Celtic Guardian with White Lightning!" Seto roared. The Blue Eyes reared its head, and sent a devastating bolt of lightning over to his enemy, obliterating it completely. Yugi's head was down, but Kaiba knew that he was crying. He smirked._

_Yugi's friends ran to his aid. Just like them, Seto thought with a sneer. Just as he was about to leave, however, Tea stopped him._

_"Yugi has friends. Yugi has US! But what do you have at the end of the day, Seto Kaiba? Tell me!"_

_"I have what I need!" he snapped, walking off, trench coat flapping behind him._

_**End Flashback**_

"Yes...if I do remember clearly, that's the girl that saved my life...not that I asked her to anyway."

He saw her shiver.

"Hm...my suspicions are confirmed. That girl is insane. It's below freezing out there-not that I care, though," he assured himself. "I mean, if she dies, that's one less of Yugi's friendship legion to worry about."

_'But it's about eleven degrees out there.'_

'Huh? Who's that?'

_'Your conscience. Go help Gardner, she'll freeze to death if you don't!'_

'Who cares?'

He and his inner self battled, but the more reasonable side won, much to his fury.

"Driver, stay here." Kaiba ordered.

"But Mr. Kaiba, it's below freezing-"

"It's talking back to your employers like that that gets you fired," he interrupted icily, getting out of the limo and slamming the door.

Téa shivered again. Maybe she did need her jacket after all. _'Too late now!'_ she thought miserably. She kept on walking. "Ugh, at this rate I'll be an icicle by the time I get to my interview!"

"Next time, think about what you wear before you leave the house," the icy words froze the already chilly air as they cut through it like a knife.

Téa turned around to see...

"Seto Kaiba! What are you doing here?" she demanded, receiving nothing but his signature smirk.

"Last time I checked, we were in a free country. Or do you not know your geography?" She ignored this comment.

"If you'll excuse me, I have an interview to go to," she snapped. Kaiba's smirk grew wider.

"Hm, looks like the cheerleader finally parted with her pom-poms, huh? I guess Yugi finally fired you and found somebody easier on the eyes."

Tea felt the anger boiling in her veins. "Shut the hell up! My life is none of your business. But...if you must know..." she had a faraway look in her eyes before she continued. "I applied for Julliard, but I didn't get accepted, so I'm looking for a job." _'Why am I telling Kaiba this? I think I'm going senile.'_

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect an answer like that. In fact, it was as if he almost felt sorry for her...

_'WHAT? What the hell is wrong with me today?'_

"Never apply for a job without a back-up plan, idiot."

Tea was about to snap back, but felt something warm being placed on her shoulders. The KC symbol expertly stitched on its front was conspicious. Turning around to acknowledge him, she saw the door of his limo slamming shut.

"That man..." she said to herself, shaking her head. "I will never understand him. One minute he's insulting me, the next helping me out..."

_**At Starbucks Coffeehouse...**_

"My babysitter better not be an old lady!" Mokuba huffed, stirring a cup of hot cocoa to its doom. Seto sighed at his brother's immaturity.

"And if they are...?" he teased. Mokuba gave him an evil glare.

"I'll never let you live it down."

Shaking his head, Seto checked his watch. _'Tch, they're late. They should know that tardiness does not look good on job interviews...I sincerely hope it's a girl. God forbid that I get a male servant like last time...' _just thinking of that horrible memory made him shudder.

As if on cue, the door to Starbucks opened. revealing (to Mokuba's relief) a young applicant. A very familiar young applicant, in fact...

"Tea?" Mokuba said incredulously. Seto's face resembled something like this: (O.o).

"Gardner?" Seto did NOT want her to be here at this present moment in time.

_'Don't tell me she's applying for the job! Wait...' _his horrified expression was replaced with an amused one._ 'I may be able to have some fun with this...' _

"What are you doing here Gardner?" he demanded coldly. Tea stared at him, surprised.

"Last time I checked, KAIBA, this was a free country. Or do you not know your geography?"

Déjà vu, huh?

"Let me rephrase the question for your tiny brain to process. What the hell is your reason for being here?" he asked, voice still frozen ice-cold.

"I already told you earlier. But in order for you to comprehend, guess I have to say it again. I have an interview today with someone. Something about being a babysitter."

"Well, it just so happens...that _I_ have to interview someone today..." Kaiba smirked evilly. Tea looked confused, then quickly grasped the meaning of that statement. Her face was nearly chalk white in a matter of seconds.

"You mean...that you're...but...how...?"

But in her head, she was saying, _'Guess I should have paid attention to the initials in the corner of the flyer...oops.'_

"Yes. So, it seems that I have to interview you today, much to my dislike," Kaiba replied disdainfully. Biting her tongue to refrain from saying words not meant for an eleven year-old currently present to hear, she plopped in the seat across from the pert blue-eyed boy. Tea realized now that the chances of getting this job were lower than getting struck by lightning...after getting maimed by a shark...twice.

"So tell me, what are your talents, _Miss_ Gardner...if any?" he finished with a cold sneer.

"Cooking, dancing, watching kids, cleaning, if you can call that a talent, and singing," she responded robotically, as if programmed to say that.

"Hm." Despite the uninterested look on his face, it was obvious he was impressed.

The waiter arrived, carrying a tray that held a single cup of strong, bitter coffee.

"Here is your coffee, Mister Kaiba sir," she said in a high, breathy voice. "Would you like anything, miss?"

"Well, I guess a shirley temple, two slices of strawberry cheesecake, two pieces of choclate swirl, a hamburger with a side of fries, and a small lemon ice cream, please," she turned towards Mokuba. "Anything for you?"

The boy gaped at her. "I thought that you were ordering for the both of us!"

She sighed. "Ok, another Shirley Temple for the young man," she replied to the rather bedazzled waiter. "I'll share with Mokuba."

Seto was shocked. All of the girls that he had interviewed in the past were obsessed with counting calories and with what they ate. She didn't seem to care. As an added bonus Mokuba seemed to have a history with her. After all, she WAS the one that saved him at Battle City...

Apparently, he was so amazed, he didn't realize that she had poured cream and sugar in his coffee until she handed it back to him cheerfully.

"Here, drink up!" she peppily said to him, receiving only a stony glare for her reward.

"Thank you for ruining my coffee, Gardner. I drink it black." But in spite of that, he took the cup and took a long gulp. Though not wanting to admit it, he didn't mind it this way. Much less bitter than the usual way he drank it.

The waitress came back with their orders (with quite a bit of difficulty).

"Let's see...a shirley temple for the young Mister Kaiba and lady, two slices of strawberry cheesecake, two pieces of choclate swirl, a hamburger with a side of fries, and a small lemon ice cream," she said, looking rather proud of herself for this major accomplishment. She looked at Seto. "Would you like any thing else, Mr. Kaiba?"

"..." He wasn't really hungry.

"That's ok! He'll share with me," Tea told the waiter, who walked away, extremely envious of the girl that would share lunch with her heart's desire.

"How did you know that I didn't want anything, Gardner?" Kaiba asked her. She glared at him fiercely.

"Because you should have said something, and I didn't want to be rude!" she exclaimed. "Here Mokuba, you can have one of my pieces of cheesecake." She said.

"But I..."

"Well, If you want some thing to eat you can call the waiter back or share with us! Choose one." she snapped angrily. This wasn't about getting the job anymore. This was a battle, and she was going to win.

He growled. "Fine, have it your way!"

He got a spoon from the counter and dug his spoon in the lemon ice cream. Coincidentally, Téa was digging her spoon into the ice cream at the same time, in the same exact area. Their hands touched. As if she were burned, Téa snapped her hand back and pushed the bowl over to Kaiba. Her hair covered her face just enough to hide flushed cheeks.

After they were done with their meal, Seto took out his roll of hundreds and paid. Tea got up to leave, but Kaiba grabbed her hand, giving Tea another blush.

"Where are you going, idiot? You haven't even heard what I decided." Tea gave a tired sigh at this.

"I know...I know I'm not the person you're looking for, since I'm Yugi's friend. You don't want anything to do with me." She quietly said.

"Actually, Gardner you're hired." Kaiba said curtly. "You will come home with us now and I will send someone to your house to get your belongings. Your job starts at 6:00 am sharp every morning."

"Whoo hoo!" Mokuba cheered, jumping up and nearly upsetting a thankfully empty glass. Tea, however, was a bit more surprised. _'He surprises me every day, but that's Seto Kaiba for you...' _

"Thank you very much, Kaiba!" she exclaimed, giving a 1000-watt smile, causing a great many cars outside to swerve and screech to a halt and create a large traffic jam.

_'...What the hell did I just do?'_ Seto thought in dismay.

Tea sat on her bed. Her room was pink, and her bed a four poster with off-white satin sheets. Her room was conveniently placed next to Mokuba's room for easy access to him if something happened, a TV and computer on either side of her, and even having a bathroom connected to it as well. The movers had taken all of her material possessions from her apartment and brought them to the mansion. She had played with Mokuba for a while, but now was waiting for him to finish his bath. There was a knock on her door followed by a muffled "TEA! I'm done." Sighing, she opened her door and went into Mokuba's room, finding him already in bed, donning dark blue pajamas, hair still damp.

"Well, I guess it's time for you to go to bed," she said to him.

"I don't think I can sleep," he replied, staring at her. She sat on the end of his bed.

"Want me to read you a bedtime story?" she playfully teased. Mokuba's nose wrinkled at that.

"No way! I'm not some kind of baby!"

"Alright alright, I won't read you a story. Do you want me to sing to you then?" she asked him. Mokuba thought about it, then shrugged.

"Well, I guess that's much better than a bedtime story." Tea scooted closer to him, and started humming a song softly, then singing the words. Her voice was a wind blowing gently through a forest, untrained, but very pleasant nonetheless.

Mokuba was asleep by the time that she was done singing. She tucked the bangs falling over his face and sweetly smiled at his deep slumber.

"You have an rather endearing voice, you know."

Shocked, Tea jumped up, then realized that she may have waked Mokuba up. He stirred, but turned over, still dreaming sweet dreams. Turning, she saw the familiar smirk of Seto. Tea tiptoed out, followed by him. After safely making it out without disturbing Mokuba, she turned around and faced the CEO.

"Wow..._the_ Seto Kaiba giving _me_ a compliment? The world really is changing every day."

It wasn't very often that he gave compliments. And those who were lucky enough to receive them just said thank you. Kaiba stared at her, not pleased, yet not exactly angry.

_'Gardner is a fool. But I suppose that now I have to teach her to pick her battles more wisely.'_

Smirking, he took a step towards her.

"I'm assuming that you know you are going to be a maid during the first three hours that Mokuba goes to school," he said to her, swiftly placing his cold mask over his face once again. She nodded dumbly, obviously not knowing where this conversation was going.

"Yes...then I'm trusting that you also know that you are also appointed as my personal maid, correct?"

"...YOUR WHAT?"

You like? You Hate? Give me feedback! **Andi-chan**


	2. Uncovered Stories

**Chapter 2: Uncovered Secrets**

Disclaimer: I... DO... NOT OWN YU-GI-OH

"YOUR WHAT?" she exclaimed. Tea was beyond angry. She was...well...scary. And it's very hard for someone like Tea to look scary. Kaiba stared back at her, completely unfazed by her outburst.

"I hate repeating myself Gardner," he said coldly.

"Well I don't remember ANYTHING in the application that said that I would be your PERSONAL maid!"

"Next time read the fine print," he smirked, greatly amused at her temper tantrum. Tea realized that, making her even more furious than she already was.

"Urgh! I can't stand you! You're such a jerk! I don't know how Mokuba even stands you, or even looks up to you!" she spat nastily. This hit a soft spot. He glared at her with icier than normal eyes.

"You're walking on thin ice." _'Why are you lying to yourself? You know that she speaks the truth...'_

"So? What does it matter? You're completely emotionless anyway! You have to be one of the most cold, cruel, horrible people I've ever met, and if your mother were still alive-!"

Unadulterated silence followed. Kaiba stared at her in disbelief, perhaps even pain. Tea's hands flew up to her mouth, a little too late.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled. His voice made Tea's blood run cold. "Don't you EVER talk about me that way! You know nothing about my life!"

He turned and swiftly stomped down the hallway, flinging the door leading to the stairs aside. He left, the door still swinging on its hinges hapzardly. Tea stared at it. She fell on her knees, hands still over the bottom half of her face.

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _The alarm clock on the white wicker end table rang obnoxiously, completely uncaring that it had just woken someone up from sweet sweet slumber. The figure in the bed groaned, slapping the clock into silence. Tea stretched and picked it up while stifling a yawn.

It was only 3:30.

"What the hell? Who set it so early?" she fumed, then sighed, accepting her fate. _'I least I have time to take my bath now,' _

Tea slipped (or should I say fell) out of bed and stumbled sleepily to her bathroom. She stripped off her clothes and turned the hot water faucet on full blast. What she needed now was a hot bath to relax. Yep, relaxing is something that she had little of lately, and was something that she was in dire need of.

She floated in the steamy water, contemplating last night's events.

_"Urgh! I can't stand you! You're such a jerk! I don't know how Mokuba even stands you, or even looks up to you!" _

_"You're walking on thin ice."_

_You have to be one of the most cold, cruel, horrible people I've ever met, and if your mother were still alive-!"_

_"SHUT UP!" _

She sighed guiltily.

"I can't believe I said that..." she muttered while scrubbing her shoulders, oblivious to the fact that if she scrubbed any harder her skin was likely to peel off like a snake's. "That was a bit...well..._very _mean of you, Tea. You should go apologize to him in a few hours, make up with the guy."

But, a corner of her mind laughed at this. _'He started it! Why should I go apologize if it's HIS fault? He's always been making fun of me and the gang-"_

She stopped at the mention of the gang momentarily, then shook her head and wiped shampoo lather away from her eyes.

After she took her bath she went back to her room to change.

'I don't have my maid uniform yet' she realized, giving another sigh. She opened her suitcase and found, jammed between a few pairs of jeans, her old school uniform.

"Well, it may not be a maid uniform, but it is a uniform," she said optimistically, unfolding it and examining the fabric for any rips and tears. If she found any, she didn't complain.

_'This thing brings back memories of Domino... I wonder if it still fits me,'_ she thought. "Well anything is worth a try!"

Darkness.

"Seto!" the boy screamed. Silence...

"Is anyone there?" he yelled out into the ethereal silence. A woman appeared before him, giving him a kind smile. He stare at her bright blue eyes wonderingly.

"...Who is that?"

Mokuba woke up with a start. Wait, correction, Mokuba was woken up. That's when he saw it, Brown hair and blue eyes. Seto? But...it was a girl.

"Mommy...?"

"Mokuba, it's me Tea," the girl said. He saw that her face showed a worried expression.

"Oh." Sadness was obvious in his voice. Tea moved closer to him.

"Mokuba? If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your mother?"

Mokuba's eyes were clouded with sorrow.

"She...she died when I was born," he answered quietly. A few crystalline tears fell down his cheeks, not unoticed by Tea. Her hand moved to wipe them away.

"Oh...I'm so sorry, Mokuba. I shouldn't have even mentioned it," she said softly. He shrugged, ineffectively hiding his pain.

"It's not your fault. You wanted to know."

_'So that's why Kaiba got mad when I talked about his mother.' _

Tea pulled Mokuba into a tight embrace. Though shocked, he returned it. Her voice, muffled by his pajamas, floated into his ears. "Well, you don't have to worry Mokuba. I'm here for you whenever you need me. I'll never leave..."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Now I want you to go back to sleep, ok?"

"Um...could you sing to me again?" he asked. She nodded and gave him a smile.

"Alright, but you have to go to sleep, do we have a deal?"

"Uh-huh." squirming back under his covers, he waited for Tea's voice to lull him back to slumber. Tea tucked him in gently, humming like before, then singing softly.

_Goodbye_

_Funny how that's such a hard thing to say_

_Now it's time to let go_

_But I never thought I'd feel this way_

_Promise not to be sad_

_But we both knew I was lying_

_Gotta fight back the tears_

_'Cause, can't let you see me crying_

_You're more than just my best friend_

_What makes me miss you most of all_

_when our final curtain falls_

_Is knowing that I won't see you again..._

Mokuba's eyes were closed by the time the song ended. Tea sighed._ 'I wish that I was still as carefree as him...' _

Mokuba woke up from a dreamless sleep. He made his move to get out of bed, but something was stopping him. He tried to move but it was near impossible. He heard a soft moan, and felt something on his chest snuggle into a more comfortable position. He looked down and saw Tea's soft brown hair falling over her peaceful face. Yes, it was her. But why was she in his bed of all places?

_'She must have fallen asleep when after I did.' _He drifted off to sleep again without another thought.

It was after six in the morning, yet Seto still had not gone to sleep. It was completely impossible, he thought, tossing around for what seemed like the seven hundreth time that night, or perhaps morning would be more accurate. All night, he had been thinking about the only two things on his mind at the moment. One was his parents.

The other was Tea Gardner.

More so of the latter.

_'Hmph! That lazy and ditzy cheerleader better not be slacking off or I will fire her when I get the chance.'_

Those words that she spoke to him last night...she didn't know what impact those words had.

_**Flashback**_

_"Urgh! I can't stand you! You're such a jerk! I don't know how Mokuba even stands you, or even looks up to you!" _

_"You're walking on thin ice." 'Why are you lying to yourself? You know that she speaks the truth...'_

_"So? What does it matter? You're completely emotionless anyway! You have to be one of the most cold, cruel, horrible people I've ever met, and if your mother were still alive-!"_

_"SHUT UP!" he yelled. His voice made Tea's blood run cold. "Don't you EVER talk about me that way! You know nothing about my life!"_

_He turned and swiftly stomped down the hallway, flinging the door leading to the stairs aside. _

_**Flashback**_

_'If your mother were still alive...' _the same words had been ringing through Seto's mind ever since last night.

"You have no idea of what I've been through, Gardener. If you did, you wouldn't even dare to open your mouth to me!" he growled into his pillow, mashing it into a fluffy blob of cotton and feathers.

_'So why is she even here? Fire her and she won't remind you of the past you worked so hard to escape from," _a voice in the back of his mind said coldly. Seto nodded, agreeing completely with its sense.

"That's right! I have to fire her or I won't ever have peace of mind..."

_'But what about Mokuba, he likes her a lot... you're being selfish. And If you do fire her, she'll be without a job or a home...' _another voice pleaded, intent on cahnging his mind.

_'Why do you care?' _the other voice came again. '_Remember, if she gets out of the way you'll have one less of Yugi's little friends to worry about.'_

"I'm going to fire her!" he finally concluded, getting out of bed and putting on his clothes. "What happens to her is none of my concern!"

Seto walked down to her room only to find an empty bed. _'Probably in Mokuba's room.' _ He opened the door to his little brother's room. Nobody but Mokuba himself, sleeping peacefully.

_'Not here either...'_

He noticed a folded piece of paper on his brother's dresser and picked it up.

_Dear Seto and Mokuba,_

_I've gone out on a walk. I don't know where I'm going, but I want to get familiar with this area.. I'll be back before daybreak!_

_Tea_

Kaiba tched. '_Well, guess I'll have to go find her.'_

Tea shivered, feeling the crisp morning air run against her arms and legs. Once again, she had made a misjudgement on the weather. Since she had gotten older, she had naturally grown taller, so her uniform skirt was even shorter than it was supposed to be. She sneezed. _'Must be getting a cold or something...'_

She sneezed again. Tea's hands went up to her forehead. _'I'm so lightheaded...what is wrong with me?'_

"Hey!" Seto Kaiba's raspy voice shouted at her. Coughing, she turned around to face him.

"What the HELL did you think you were doing?" he yelled at her. "Running around in that outfit, it's even colder than it was yesterday!"

"I know... I'm sorry Kaiba," she said quietly. She coughed, her face flushed.

"Don't you learn from your mistakes, Gardner? You should learn to wear your jacket when you go out!"

No reply.

"Gardner?"

"Seto..." she fell forward, caught just in time by Kaiba, not even realizing that she called him by his first name.

"GARDNER!"

Hehehehe! Sorry! I'll update soon!


	3. Sleeping Patterns

_Disclaimer: Yeah...if I'm the creator of Yu-gi-oh...Then why am I posting fanfiction, huh?  
_**Chapter 3: Sleeping Patterns**

Seto listened to the rhythmic sound of her breathing as he watched her sleep. He didn't know why, but somehow it was..._relaxing. _Although he really hated to admit it, he had been troubled about her condition. But you couldn't really blame him. After all, she had been sleeping for a day and a half without stirring. He thought about how furious she made him when she went out.

_'She's just some little kid...don't even know why I hired her.'_ He had wanted to get rid of her but after the whole fiasco that we are wise enough to not mention, he didn't want to throw her out. Great, he was going soft...he could see the headlines already...**_SHOCKING NEWS: SETO KAIBA HAS A HEART._**

_  
_He was also worried about his brother. Mokuba had been worried to tears ever since he saw Gardner in her unconsious state. Seto gazed at his brother, who was curled in a little ball on the foot of Gardner's bed, in a fitful sleep. Althouh he had tried to get him to go to sleep in his room, the kid had refused. He just held on to the girl's shirt, afraid to let her go. Afraid to lose the closest thing to a mother he had in a long, long time.

And yet...that was the thing about Mokuba that surprised him the most. Mokuba had had dozens of baby-sitters in the past, but he was bitter to them all. And here he was, acting as if GARDNER, of all people, was his mother. It made Seto jealous. He was the one that had taken care of him at that dump of an orphanage, he was the person that made sure that Gozaburo never harmed the boy like he did him. But Mokuba was acting towards Gardner almost exactly like the way he treated Seto.

He looked back at Gardner. Her face was flushed. She still had a fever, but it had gone down slightly. Her school uniform was clinging onto her sweaty body like a second skin.

_'How in the world did she think she could go outside wearing something like THAT and not expect to get noticed?' _Her sheer density amazed him. The other girls that worked as babysitters, they wore things twice as revealing as that uniform. And they DID expect to get noticed...by him. Always flipping their hair and winking at him like the brainless fools they were, trying to seduce him. Gardner...was different from them.

_'What about her friends? The Dog, Yugi, Tristen, Mai, Serenity, Duke, the rest of those morons...huh. Probably wouldn't be agreeing with the fact that she is staying at my home...but they really aren't her friends anymore, are they...?'_

666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

Tea's eyelids fluttered open. Almost immediately, she was attacked with a piano sized migraine that blurred her vision. She tried to remember the last thing that happened, but her mind was as blank as a newly erased chalkboard. Tea looked around the room to see if there was any thing that indicated where she was, but could barely identify anything in the room at all, thanks to her failing vision. She rubbed her eyes and squinted. The first image that her brain deciphered shocked her.

Seto was sleeping deeply in a chair next to her bed. His normally cold and forbidding scowl had been replaced with a less, albeit still, stern frown, reminding Tea of her late grandfather, who always reprimanded her in front of her parents, but gave her peppermints as soon as their heads were turned. He almost looked...cute.

But...where was Mokuba? She looked around frantically to find him, but didn't see the little boy anywhere. Trying to get up to look for him, she failed miserably. Something was on her feet. She looked down and her panicked expression vanished. There he was, sound asleep in a little ball, a kitten in front of the fireplace. On his face she could see the trails that the tears traced on his cheeks.

'_I must have worried him sick...' _Gently picking him off of his bed, she quietly carried him to his room and tucked him lovingly into his bed. Tea kissed his forhead and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door silently behind her.

_'Now for the second Kaiba . . .'_ she groaned at the thought.

She walked slowly to her room. Although she hated to wake Kaiba up, she didn't want him to wake up with a neck like cement. She tapped him on the shoulder. He stirred but didn't wake up. She tapped him on his shoulder again, this time a little harder. Same results. Sighing, she slid his trench coat off of him and lifted him up by his arms, which was a very strenuous task considering that he weighed about a hundred and fifty pounds. Finally though, she managed to get his upper body onto the bed. Now all that that there was left to do was get his legs up. She walked around him to get to his legs, and ended up tripping over her own feet, falling on top of him.

Tea stared at his sleeping face.

_'Something about this feels strangely right...'_

She was inches away from his lips. _'I wonder...'_

She closed the gap.

Seto stirred.

That was enough to snap her back into reality.

_'WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING!'_ she screamed in her head. She jumped off the bed and landed painfully onto the cold floor.

Getting up, she tenderly lifted his legs up onto the bed. She realized what she had done, but she just couldn't help it. There was something about that face that gave her the urge to...

"Sweet dreams, Seto," she whispered in his ear before kissing him on the forehead. The girl put the comforter over him and walked out of the room.

666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

Seto woke up, and looked around, startled. He knew already that he was in Tea's room, but he clearly remembered being on the floor. So why was he on the bed? And where was Tea and Mokuba?

Panic struck him. He ran to Mokuba's room, and found his brother in his bed. He looked relieved at Mokuba's saftey, but the emotion slipped off of his face when we remembered Tea.

_'That idiot!'_ he thought, running through the house in search of her. _'How the hell does she expect to get better if is walking around?' _

He flung the kitchen door open. Tea was at the sink, washing dishes.

She didn't notice Kaiba's entry. Trapped in her own little world, softly humming a song to herself while scrubbing a particularly stubborn pan. Something about her, the aura she was radiating...it seemed almost sad.

_**Flashback**_

_  
Tea was skipping in the school hallways merrily, headed to the school auditorium to retrieve her dancing shoes that she had left behind. She was on cloud nine. Why wouldn't she be? She had great friends, good grades, and she finally was dating Yami. When she opened the door, her happiness was instantly replaced with shock. Then rage. Then misery. _

_  
She saw them the both of them. A girl with jet black hair and clear green eyes. A girl that was much prettier than her._

_  
"Mira, I've loved you for a long time and I just wanted to tell you how I feel..."_

_  
"Why?" Mira asked him, wrinkling her nose in slight distain. "I thought you liked that other girl." _

_  
"I only said that I loved her because I thought that it was my destiny. But now I've realized...you are the only one that I truly love." _

_"I love you too," she murmured lovingly. She moved in for the kiss...Tea couldn't bear it any longer._

_  
"Yami!"_

_The scream echoed throughout the almost empty room. Yami jerked his head and saw Tea. His sanguine eyes widened._

_"I trusted you...but now I know that what you said was all a lie." she said quietly. Though her face was turned downward, Yami could see the trails of tears falling down her rosy cheeks._

_  
"Tea..." _

_  
"No Yami! I won't fall for it any more!" she turned and slammed open the exit door and fled away._

_  
Had she listened any longer she would have heard him say, "...we were practicing for a school play..."  
_

_**End Flashback**_

She let the tears well up in her eyes at the memory. It was over and done with now. She had to move on.

"Tea?"

That was Seto's voice.

Tea hastily blinked away her tears. If there was one person that she didn't want to see her tears it was him. And Mokuba, of course. In spite of that, she was very surprised that he had called her by her FIRST name. He usually called her "that ditsy cheerleader" or "Gardner." Turning to him, she opened her mouth to reply.

"Yes?" she asked. "I am doing my job correctly aren't I?"

Seto's normally emotionaless mask failed him for a moment, but was back up in a flash.

"You idiot! Why the hell are you up? You've been sleeping for nearly two days straight, you can't just jump up and walk around!"

She winced at his sudden outburst, but soon retaliated. "So sorry that I decided to do my job, MISTER Blue Eyes!"

"...What did you just call me?" he raised his eybrow in amusement."I called you Mister Blue Eyes. You have a problem with that?"

"Well...I _don't know_...usually my employees call me Mr. _Kaiba_..." he said

sarcastically. Tea stared at him. Her fingers tapped her chin as she cocked her head ot one side.

"Hmm...thought that was a witty comment, huh? I just happened to think that the name suited you. After all, you've got blue eyes, and the Blue Eyes is your favorite card, after all."

"How did you know that it was my favorite card?" he asked.

"_I_ dunno," she rolled her eyes. "Maybe it's because you've got a BLUE EYES LAPTOP?" all through this, they stared at each other. Finally, Seto shook his head.  
"You are one odd girl, Gardner."

"Not as strange as you, anyways...but I'll take that as a compliment," Tea stopped and smiled. "Hmm. . . Back to Gardner again, huh? Make up your mind already!" she said teasingly. Seto looked confused.

"What in the world are you talking about?" he asked quizzically.

"Don't think I didn't notice. You called me Tea a minute ago. And that was the first thing that you said to me." she replied. Her grin swelled in size.

The CEO's face flushed a light pink. He turned so that she couldn't see it. "I don't know what you are talking about." he said stiffly. Tea laughed.

"Whatever." she replied simply. She was about to say something else, but was cut off by her sudden coughing.

"Gardner, do you _now_ see the importance of resting when you are ill?" Kaiba said mockingly.

"I'm fine, Kaiba. I want to clean. I'm not going to bed and you can't make me," she stuck her tongue out childishly. An unusual evil glint made itself visible in Kaiba's blue eyes.

"Wanna bet?"

"What in heaven's name does that..." she didn't get to finish her sentence when he picked her up by her waist, slung her effortlessly over his shoulder, and walked off towards the stairs.

"HEY! Seto Kaiba, put me down right this instant, or I'll really hurt you! " she screamed in rage while pounding on his back with her hands. He snorted at this.

"What, are you going to injure my back with your pathetic taps?" he continued walking up the stairs and reached her room. Walking in, he tossed her gently onto her bed. Tea jumped back up, but was pushed back down by Kaiba. She swung her hand back as if she was about to slap him, but he took both her hands and held them down.

...And what an unusual position that was. Kaiba's eyes were taunting her. Even with all of her strength, he wasn't breaking a sweat.

"And what makes you think that I'll go to sleep now?" she yelled in his face. His smirk grew.

"Simple. I'm going to lay down with you until you do."

"WHAT? How do I know that you won't take advantage of me when I'm sleeping?"

Seto burst out in laughter. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Fine! Now, if you please, will you let go of me?" she said in forced calm. He obliged. Huffing, she pushed him off of her and crawled into her covers, then slowly difted off into dreams. Seto watched her sleeping form.

"You never cease to amaze me...Tea."


	4. Memories don't fade

**Chapter Four: Memories Don't Fade**_  
Disclaimer: Lalalalalalala... I can't hear you..._

_a/n I made up the names of Tea's parents  
_

o o o o o

Tea stretched in her bed, having just woken up to the lovely morning sun shining merrily through her window. She felt loads better after that nice long rest. It's a shame that she couldn't say that about the other two inhabitants of the household. Kaiba was probably back to his usual grumpy self. Quite different from the way he was the other day. But, what do you expect on a Monday morning? He was going to work, perhaps that was the reason? Mokuba had not woken up since yesterday, and she was absolutely dreading having to wake him herself.

She finally slipped out of bed to give Mokuba his wake up call. She knocked on his door, which was closed shut. There was no reply. She opened the door and peeked in. Mokuba was still in his bed, out like a burned lightbulb. She wasn't surprised since it was still quite early. Tea walked to his bedside and gently shook his shoulder.

"Mokuba, rise and shine," she said. "Time for another beautiful day."

The boy stirred, sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes. He looked through his mussed up morning hair and caught sight of her.

"Tea, you're alright!" he cheered, giving her a monster hug that winded her. He let go and proceeded to jump up and down on his bed singing "Tea's okay, Tea's okay, Tea's okay..." While the girl looked on, sweatdrop apparent.

_'Funny how he just woke up and he is as hyper as he could ever be...'_ she thought.

"Yes Mokuba, I'm fine," she smiled. Mokuba leaped off his bed next to her. He crossed his arms, feigning seriousness, giving him a stunning resemblence to his older brother.

"Do you have any IDEA how worried I was? Seto was too. When he brought you in the house you were unconscious!"

Her eyes widened in surprise. _Seto Kaiba actually DOES have a heart!' _"Mokuba I want you to go and brush your teeth and take a bath for school. I'll get your clothes ready while you do." she ordered. He nodded obediently and went to his bathroom. She could hear the sound of running water behind its closed door.

"Now should I choose for him to wear?" she thought out loud to herself. Raiding his closet, she searched for a suitable shirt for him. She found one in a few minutes. A lovely cotton t-shirt, dark blue, with two lighter blue striped on either sleeve. She neatly set this on his bed, then excavated for a pair of jeans. Finding a pair of khakis, she laid that on the bed as well and looked quite pleased with herself. She then put a pair of socks and underwear next to them and went downstairs to prepare breakfast.

o o o o o

Seto woke up to the wonderful smell of breakfast. He changed, tossed on one of his designer trench coats, and walked down the stairs to see what was prepared. He was shocked that someone was cooking breakfast, for he had never hired a cook in fear of one poisoning him and his brother with cyanide.

He opened the door into the kitchen and saw a large and splendid breakfast laid before him.

There was crispy bacon, apealing scrambled eggs, fluffy pancakes, soft slightly toasted bread, hot tea, succulent sausages, and golden-brown waffles. The person responsible even made him coffee and the only person who ever had the nerve to make his coffee was...

Tea.

And no, not the drink.

Both Tea and Mokuba were both at the table. Mokuba was eyeballing the breakfast just like his brother, while Tea just sat there, rather pleased at the two's reactions.

"Are you two finished gawking? Because if you are, then I think you should tuck in and start eating," said Tea. "I've been waiting, and, quite frankly, I'm faint from hunger."

Seto shook his head to get him out of his stupor. He sat down at the table and reached for a serving spoon...and Tea promptly slapped his hand with a spatula. Funny...He didn't see it in her hands before.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" he shouted while nursing his injured hand. Tea stared at him incredulously.

"You think after all the time that we've spent waiting that I'd let you get the first bite? You must be joking!" she said.

Mokuba burst out in laughter at the comical expression on Seto's face, while Seto just mumbled something incoherent under his breath.

"What was that?" Tea asked nastily. He didn't say anything else. "I thought so," she smirked.

The rest of the meal was silent. Seto was trying to think of some witty retort he could say, but was having a wee bit of trouble making one up. Tea had a triumphant glower on her face as she ate, while Mokuba was trying in vain to not laugh while eating his eggs. Tea turned and looked at her watch. She gasped. "Mokuba, you need to get going, before you're late! Your jacket and your backpack are by the front door, and the limo is outside waiting for you."

Mokuba's eyes widened, and he dashed out to the main room to get his stuff. A faint "Bye Tea, bye Setoooooo..." was heard, and then a door closing shut.

Seto stared at Tea with surprise. He was shocked at how motherly she was to Mokuba. All of the other girls that had taken care of him didn't even bother to get his things ready before he left for school. He was jolted back into reality by Tea.

"Hey, Blue-eyes?" she asked. He sighed in psuedo-annoyance.

"What is it? Gardner, I don't have time, I need to get to work."

"Wow. You certainly have a way with words, you know that? I was just wondering if I have to wear some kind of uniform while I do this job. Or can I wear my own clothes? I don't really want to wear a maid's oufit."

Seto raised one eyebrow in amusement. "You just answered your own question, Gardner. If you don't want to wear one you don't have to."

She looked mildly surprised at this, expecting more arguing, but pleased at this. "Ok. So, as your personal maid, what kinds of things do I do? I mean, I know that don't just stand around every day answering to your every beck and call."

"I could arrange that, you know." he said with an evil smirk.  
"No thanks," was her flat reply. "Just answer the question, alright?" Seto gave an apathetic shrug.

"You basically arrange my documents, make may bed, do my laundry, and clean my room."

"So how am I different from any other maid?" she asked, a confused expression on her face.

"Well, as you can see, I don't have many employees in my house. I cannot trust most people, mostly because they use my little brother to get to me. I do not allow any of the regular maids entrance into my room."

"So...you're saying that you trust me?" she smiled.

This seemed to hit a soft spot. Immediately, he rose from the table and stared at her coldly.

"Look, friendship girl, as much as I would _love_ to finish this conversation, I have things to do, as do you."

"Kaiba..." Tea quietly said, seeming to be talking to the floor more than Seto. "Why is it that every time that I try to ask you something, you shrug off my question like it's nothing? Is it because you're afraid that someone will penetrate your barrier? I know that you aren't as hostile as you want people to think. I think I know what you're really like..."

Seto kept quiet. Every single word was felt like a sharp dagger piercing his heart.

"...So why don't you let anyone know? Is it that frightening to have people see the person inside of you-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP GARDNER!" he roared. The room practically shook from the sheer force of his voice. "You have no idea what I've been through! You're just a naive little kid!"

She was a bit surprised by the outburst, but she stood her ground. "Then what exactly have you been through? If you would tell me, then maybe I can help..."

"I don't need help from the likes of you."  
"And...just what do you mean by that?" she murmured, afraid of what his answer could, and will be.

"You...being the girl always cheering about friendship and happiness, upbeat, happy. You couldn't possibly understand what I've been through in my life. More pain than you've ever endured. You've always had your parents beside you no matter..."

"Didn't you just tell me not to assume things about you?" Tea snapped. "Then how in the world can you assume that my parents have supported me?"

"Because I'm not blind, Gardner. I've seen your parents before at school meetings-"

"Don't...you..._ever..._act as if you've seen my parents before," her voice shook slightly as she spoke. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes, but her face showed no true weakness. "You've never known my parents! They're...they're dead! Dead..."

She turned, her overflowing eyes throwing crystalline tears into the air, where they caught the morning light and sent little rainbows onto the walls. She ran, out of the kitchen, through the corrider, up the stairs, into her room...

o o o o o

**_Kaiba Corporations, 2:00 pm._**

Seto drummed on his desk with a pen. His head was leaning on his free hand, and he stared into space. He just couldn't concentrate on his work. The incident at breakfast played in his head, a broken tape recorder in desperate need of fixing.

_"Don't you ever act as if you've seen my parents before..."_

What did she mean by that? He had seen her with both of her parents in the park about not even last year...Unless...she was adopted?

_"You've never known my parents! They're...they're dead!"_

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Kaiba couldn't help but snicker. The way she carried on, no one could have ever guessed. She had covered up her true emotions with a facade most unlike it.

_"Dead..."_

Seto slammed his pen down on the table. He was...interested...shall we say, about Tea's past. He wanted to know more about this, and if it was the only thing he would accomplish today, so be it. He pressed one of the many buttons on a machine next to his computer, and almost automatically, one of his employees rushed in.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" The man stammered.

"Go and search for any information regaring Tea Gardner," Seto repliedd crisply. The man nodded.

"M-may I ask why?"

"No."

"I'll get right to work Mr. Kaiba," the man turned and walked out. He knew that pressing further could put his job in jeopardy.

By the end of the day, Seto had only three pieces of evidence. Tenshi Mazaki  
The first was a rather short article clipping, with a picture of a girl with a striking resemblance to none other than Tea.

**_When Tragic Strikes_**  
_  
A man was found dead in a frigid river Thursday, after he apparently ran off of a bridge, authorities said. He is survived by his daughter Anzu Mazaki (age five)._

_Tenshi Mazaki, co-founder of Mazaki and Tungs Inc., was last seen Wednesday night, leaving his home. A search began later that night, and the body was found next morning near I-85._

_Police infer from the alcohol level in his blood that he was under the influence before he died._

The next was another article.

**_Mazaki Girl in Good Hands_**

_After two years of living in the hands of Social Services, Anzu Mazaki, daughter of late Tenshi Mazaki, has finally been adopted by a new family. Although many had desired the girl, after it was found that Mazaki's father's company was to be split up and Mazaki would not get a cent of the stocks, demand for her fell flat. But now, she will be placed in a loving new home. The names of the couple will not be disclosed for legal purposes._

The third and last piece was an old and rusted locket shaped like a heart. It had a picture of a woman with Tea's brown hair in one of the heart halves, but the other side was blank.

He was quite surprised when he finished examining these items. He would have never imagined that Tea Gardner and Anzu Mazaki were one in the same. The Mazakis were a wealthy family, and the "deaths" of the father and daughter was all over the news. He never looked into it too much at the time, since he was as young as Gardner when it happened. Although Gozaburo had told him about it, and how part of the company went to Kaiba Corp. because they had a business deal.

He sighed unknowingly. What confused him was how she was always peppy and cheerful when this happened to her. Why didn't she become cold and ruthless, like he did...?

o o o o o


	5. Confrontations

**Chapter 5  
**

Seto put on his coat, snatched up his briefcase, and stormed out of his office, not caring if he knocked over employees in the way. All of his meek little servants didn't complain, as they knew that when Seto Kaiba storms out of Kaiba Corp it's best not to bother him.

He had already called his limo to come to the front of the building and pick him up. He didn't care that he had left work three hours early. He didn't care about anything.

He only had one thing in mind, and that was to find Tea. The images of his own

past were enough to send chills down his spine, so what would Tea's past be like to her? He kicked himself mentally for reawakening the old wounds caused by the trauma. No one really deserved to go through that. The only reason that he had a will to live was for Mokuba. He was all that he had left. But she...did she have anyone at all? Where the hell were her foster parents all of this time? Why didn't she just go back to Japan after she failed the admittance to Julliard?

o o o o o

Tea sat up in bed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Her eyes were inflamed and bloodshot from crying. No matter how hard she tried, no matter where she went, she could never forget her past. One particularly brutal beating was fresh in her mind...

**_Flashback_**

_A seven year old Tea tugged on her father's shirt. Judging from her tired blue eyes and the lack of energy in her walk, she was worn out more than any other child her age should have been. She had managed to create a computer program for her father's company._

_  
"Daddy, I've done exactly as you asked me to," she said. Without another thought, her father snatched the disk from her hands, his eyes never leaving the computer he was working on.  
_

_"About time," he said coldly as he pushed the cd into the drive. "And do not call me 'Daddy', child."  
_

_He scanned the disk carefully on the computer, checking over every detail of the design. He didn't say anything to Tea, but secretly, he knew that her work was better than some of the adults working for him. He clicked on the save button for further use of the project, then pulled the disk out and plastered a cruel look on his face.   
_

_"Is this what you call your best work?"  
_

_"Dad-um, Father, I worked very hard and I hope that you li…" the girl's voice failed when she looked into the unforgiving eyes of her parent.  
_

_"This is trash, you worthless girl. You don't deserve to be called my daughter!" he said nastily.  
_

_"Father! I've worked so hard on that!" she cried. "How can you say such a-"  
_

_The sound of his painful slap echoed throughout the room. She held her injured _

_cheek, eyes watering.  
_

_Her father still had the disk in his hands. Tea knew what he was going to do. Slowly, he bent the disk. The plastic cover shattered, and the contents of the disk were now useless. Tea burst into sobs.  
_

_But her father wasn't done yet. He walked over to his daughter, malice written all over his face. Tea whimpered and held her hands above her, a makeshift shield. But it wasn't enough to block her father..._

**_End Flashback_**

Tea shivered at the memory. That devil of a man that had caused her all of this pain in the first place. The one who had broken her spirit, her heart, and her trust. Half of her childhood was wasted on nothing but computer programs, designing, and endless days of work thanks to him. The years that she could never get back. But, what she could barely believe now was the fact that she actually thought that he loved her. She actually had thought that deep down in his black heart, that there was a speck of him that cared about her. She was just a naive little girl.

When he died, she had felt a strong surge of many emotions. Hatred towards him for all the things that he had done. Anger, for being amused at her pain. But, the most surprising feeling and the one that had frightened her the most was the relief at his passing away. She didn't shed one tear for him when she found out that her father was dead. She had actually smiled. She didn't attend his funeral, of course. But, what she never understood was one thing. She had been in the car as well. Despite her also being in the car with him, she had somehow survived. It was a miracle how she did not even get an injury. She should've been crushed into a ball of mush and gore. She was right in the path of the impact. But something protected her from the crash. Her locket had been missing ever since. The one that her mother gave her before she passed away. It was her most prized possesion. Her _only _possession. If anything, the loss of her locket was more painful than the loss of her father.

And now, here she was. Anzu Mazaki, child prodigy, working as a maid! The irony was almost too much to bear. Her father would have been outraged, but her mother wouldn't be angry. She would have just smiled sweetly and be proud and accept her for what she was. But her mother was not alive. And, fortunately, neither was her father. The only people that she had were her friends. But, thanks to somewhat recent events, she didn't even have them. She was really all alone.

o o o o o

Seto arrived at the mansion, after about half an hour of complaining to his driver about his slothful driving. He was on the verge of firing him, but thought better of it…this would be the seventh one that he fired in the last three weeks.

His walk was quite a bit faster than his usual stride, which was saying alot as he walked very swiftly. He was...worried about Tea. But Tea just wasn't suicidal. Or was she? Besides, the idea of bringing up what had happened in the past couldn't possibly be enough to push her over the edge...That was all ancient history now, right? His heart hammering guiltily against his chest told him otherwise. Something was not right in the eerily quiet mansion. In his eyes, Tea was a loud, annoying, and obnoxious girl. There was NO way that she could be that quiet.

He dashed up the long flight of stairs, silently cursing at them for their sheer steepness and length. He ran until he reached her room. Her door wasn't locked, so he took that as a good sign. Slowly he turned the knob...

He mentally sighed in relief when he saw her sleeping in her bed. Her salty tears had made many trails on her cheeks, and her ragged breathing gave the hint that she had had a rough day.

_Yeah, a rough day because of me._ He thought. He didn't really know why he even cared. Wasn't her friend his "enemy"? Maybe it was because he went through the same thing.

_Boy I'm getting soft... _

He walked over to her slowly, and sat on the bed. He peered closely at her face. Despite her flushed face and her tear-streaked face, she really was rather pretty...He shook his head of such thoughts before deciding to get some work done in his home office. Just as he got up, he heard her faint voice.

"Daddy, please don't...no..." she said in a voice barely higher than a whisper.

"Daddy it wasn't my fault that momma died..." she moaned and tears fell down her cheeks as she shook violently in her sleep.

Seto decided that now was a better time than any to wake her up from her nightmare. He lightly touched her shoulder. She flinched at the contact like she had been slapped. He lightly nudged her on the shoulder. This time her eyelids fluttered open. Her eyes focused and widened as she almost shot out of bed.

"Kaiba...hey...aren't you supposed to be at work...?" she asked, still sleepy.

"It's my company, fool. I can leave whenever I feel like it," he shot back arrogantly. Tea rolled her eyes.

"Why were you on the foot of my bed?"

He hesitated, but he decided to tell her. "To tell you the truth, I...needed some papers that I had left in my home office. When I passed your room, you were crying, so I woke you up," It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't an entire lie either.

Tea was silent. Seto took this as a sign to continue.

"You really shouldn't keep things like this a secret, Gardner. Or...do you prefer Mazaki?"

Her eyes widened, but then narrowed just as quickly. "Pray tell why you know so much about me," she asked. It wasn't even a question at all, really. It was a command.

"Let's just say that I did my homework."

"Who the hell gave you the right to look up my past? I'm pretty damn sure that I didn't ask you to!" she snapped furiously. Kaiba raised his eyebrow at her sudden burst of fury, but kept his cool.

"Well, your last name is Mazaki, isn't it?" he questioned her "innocently". Tea didn't buy it.

"My only last name is Gardner. Mazaki is the surname of my late father." she said shortly. She stood up to leave, but Kaiba caught her by the wrist, turning her around to face him.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about this, _Gardner_?" he asked.

"And I'm hearing this from Mr. Talkative himself?" she retorted nastily, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm serious."

Her eyes glazed over with misty tears, but she refused to let them fall. If there was one person that she didn't want to cry in front of, it was most certainly Seto Kaiba.

"I know what it's like, but you need to..."

"Don't tell me what to do!" She snapped at him. "You don't know what I've been through!"

"Did you just not tell me this morning not to contradict myself and assume things? Try me. When I was seven, my father died. I saw it all happen, the car crash. Since then, I had to take care of Mokuba. Then, when I was twelve, Gozaburo Kaiba adopted us," Seto's stormy blue eyes swirled with a hurricane. "That was pure hell."

Tea held her tongue for once. _So Kaiba had a rough childhood too..._

"I was beaten mercilessly whenever I made a mistake, or did not do something exactly right. Sometimes there wasn't any reasons at all for why he whipped me," he

broke off. _Why am I even telling her this?_

Tea made a gulping noise, almost as if she was swallowing her tears. "I'm sorry..." she murmured apologetically. The man shrugged.

"I'm over it now. But you...not so much. You need to forget the past, leave it behind. It's over. If you always reminisce on the past, you'll never move away from it. It will hurt you later on," he said to her. The storm in his eyes was replaced with a distant look. She nodded.

"But I do have one question," he said. "Why didn't you go home after you failed the admission to Julliard?" At this, Tea heaved a sigh.

"After I said that I wanted to dance, my foster parents didn't want anything to do with me. They said that if I left, I would have to find my own way home," she replied.

There was a very pregnant pause before Seto got up. He walked away, to the door of the room, before Tea suddenly thought of something.

"Wait, Seto!" She exclaimed, running over to him. He stopped walking and waited impatiently for what she had to say.

"I just wanted to say thanks...for cheering me up."

She threw her arms around his neck in a hug. Seto stumbled back slightly, flustered at the girl's childish actions. He wasn't exactly an expert at how to respond to things like this. Tea let go of him, then stood up on the tips of her toes and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. She left the room. Leaving...

A very dumbstruck, very red Seto behind.

_What the hell just happed here?_


	6. Fighting a losing battle

**Chapter Six: Fighting a Losing Battle**

_Disclaimer: Why do I even bother?_

o o o o o

Seto was still standing exactly in the same place for nearly ten minutes in a state of utter shock. He jolted out of his stupor, then shook his head and walked to his office. Maybe he could get some work done without thinking about _her_.

_That kiss...was one of gratitude. It wasn't supposed to mean anything_, he thought stubbornly, trying to focus on the program on his computer. What a shame that it was all in vain. A shame it was indeed.

Try as he might to convince himself, his thoughts kept on wandering to that certain blue-eyed brunette. He stubbornly refused to admit that he was attracted to her.

He had met many pretty girls in his life...too many. And they impaired his judgment on all women. How they all worshiped him stupidly, drooling like the brainless fangirls they were. But Tea, she was very different from them. She actually could think about things other than how she looked or when he would "fall" for her. Even though it was extremely foolish of her as his employee to challenge him when she knew full well that he could fire her without a second thought.

_But you could never do that, could you?_ a rather obnoxious voice at the back of his head said. Silently, he agreed with it. He probably couldn't bear to see her cry again. One sign of tears and he turns into a puddle of mush...

Yeah...he _was_ going soft.

o o o o o

Tea waited impatiently for the arrival of Mokuba. She and Seto were sitting in the living room. Seto was sitting in that Kaiba-like way of his, working on some program on his laptop. Tea, on the other hand, was draped across the other end of the sofa, head hanging off of the armrest haphazardly. She tapped the soles of her feet on the coffee table, then drummed her fingers on it as well. She sighed, waited for about thirty seconds, then checked the clock and sighed again. Over and over and over again. It was driving Seto mad.

"Stop it," he snapped at her. He turned back to his computer, satisfied with the immediate silence. Every other employee of his would have quivered in fear and stopped, not to mention to have probably not been impudent enough to be sprawling around in his presence in the first place. Take note that Tea wasn't every other employee.

Almost as soon as his hands touched his keyboard, the girl tapped her foot and drummed her fingers even louder, enjoying the annoyed and irritated look that she was getting from him.

"Stop it!" he yelled, his irritation getting the better of him.

There was another moment's silence before she drummed her fingers and banged both of her feet hard enough to wake the dead.

He wanted to strangle her right then and there. But of course, if looks could kill, she'd already be dead anyway. He leaped up from his seat, walked over to her side, and grabbed her forcefully by her arm in the blink of an eye. Tea was speechless for a moment, but swiftly regained her senses.

"Let go of me you corporate jerk!" she spat. Seto gave an evil smile and held her up high in the air by her wrist. Not only was it a rather low blow for her pride, but it hurt a good deal too.

Seto laughed coldly. "As I recall, I asked you to stop, and you didn't. So what makes you think that I'm going to?"

Her other arm was free, and she swung her hand at his face, but to no avail as he caught it with his other hand.

"Feisty, aren't we?" he said in an amused voice. Tea glared daggers at him. Then suddenly, an idea popped in her head. Her legs were still free right?

She kneed him in the stomach with just enough force to get him to fall over.

Big mistake.

It appeared that she didn't know her own strength. Seto fell backwards, dragging Tea down with him. He fell on the floor, while she fell with full impact on him.

Seto made a pained grunt and looked into her clear ultramarine eyes. His face was dangerously close to hers. Every part of his body was screaming at him to take that chance. For it could be the only one that he got...but then, he realized what he was doing, and pushed her off forcefully.

"Get the hell off of me, woman!" he cried.

She untangled herself from him and stood up sheepishly. She felt so ashamed. It was her who was supposed to be strong. She flushed a light red, but soon regained her composure.

"You were the one who pulled me down too, you IDIOT!"

"In case you didn't notice, you were the one who had started all of this, fool. Besides," he sneered, "I'm not the one who is as heavy as a pregnant cow."

Tea could have sworn that she felt her blood boil. "I am not fat!" she shrieked indignantly. This comment bounced off of Seto harmlessly. His sneer grew wider by the second.

"You should really shed off some of those extra pounds, you know. It's bad for your health. Might I suggest the _Atkins diet_?"

"URGH! Why am I even talking to you? For someone who is supposed to be a genius, you sure don't act like one, _mister_ Kaiba."

"Was that supposed to be an insult?" he smirked.

They stared daggers at each other for a short while before they heard the front door open, and the footsteps that were not far apart from each other to be an adult's.

"Mokuba's home!" Tea cried. _Good, I won't have to deal with this idiot again_, she thought to herself, blatantly ignoring the fact that she could have left the kitchen anytime she wanted to. She walked to the kitchen door and opened it. Seto in the meantime, stood up and dusted off his trench coat. Mokuba walked in, ran up to Tea, and gave her a big hug.

"Hey Tea!"

"Hi Mokuba!" she smiled. "And how was school?"

Mokuba stuck out his tongue. "It was BORING!"

Tea couldn't help but to crack a grin at his childish antics. She wished that she could be an innocent, carefree child again. Not like she ever had a carefree childhood...but it was nice to imagine at times what life could have been like, right?

"Hey big brother!" Mokuba said to Seto, just realizing that he was there. "Why aren't you at work?" he asked. "You're supposed to be at work until ten."

"I had left some important papers in my office. When I got here, I decided to finish up the work here," Seto replied smoothly. Mokuba raised an eyebrow, looking just like his older brother when he did the same. The boy didn't seem to believe the story entirely, but chose not to dig for answers.

"Mokuba, why don't you go do your homework? If you finish early, we can make cookies," Tea said.

"Yay, cookies!" Mokuba darted out of the to his room as fast as he could.

Tea giggled, then turned back to Seto with a serious face.

"What was the real reason that you came home, Kaiba? And don't try to feed me lies, because I'm not stupid."

"Tch. You're crazy," he said. He picked up his laptop and turned to leave, but Tea blocked the doorway.

"What's so hard about it? Just tell me!"

"Stop pestering me, woman! Go and do your job before I fire you. For the entire time you've been here, all you have been doing is bickering like an old crone!"

"Stop trying to change the subject!" she yelled. "Tell me the real reason you left work!"

"...Get to work, Gardner," he said before pushing her aside and walking up the stairs to his office.

Tea growled in frustration. _Why is he so hard to reach?_

o o o o o

"Like this?" Mokuba asked Tea.

She giggled. "No, silly!"

The duo were in the kitchen, two little islands in a sea of broken eggshells and spilt cooking ingredients. Tea was teaching Mokuba how to crack eggs, though he currently didn't seem to be having any luck in the art. The result of their past attempts were sticky layers of egg yolks and whites splattered on the counter.

"...Um...how about I crack the eggs and you can pour the milk?" Tea quickly said.

"Okay!" he over enthusiastically said.

Tea cracked the eggs in to the bowl skillfully, and Mokuba poured the milk. Next was the flour.

"I wanna pour the flour!" whined Mokuba. Tea nodded absent-mindedly while she ticked off eggs and milk on the recipe.

"Sure, Mokuba...Just be sure to measure the flour right."

After Mokuba poured the flour, Tea added the sugar, cinnamon, white chocolate, and milk chocolate chips. They started cutting the dough into stars, moons, and suns.

o o o o o

Seto leaned his head onto his hand, staring at the blank screen of his computer. Once again, he could not concentrate, thanks to that girl.

Seto sighed. Why was he spending so much of his valuable time on a girl? Especially Yugi's head cheerleader.

_Why does he get everything...? Wait...what! Where did that thought come from?_

But if she was with Yugi, she would call him, and the rest of her loser friends, every once in a while. The whole time that she has been here she has not called anyone," he muttered.

He slammed his fist down on the table, then rose from his chair and left the room to go to the kitchen.

o o o o o

Tea wiped her brow tiredly. The cookies were finished, although not before Mokuba went to bed, and she could do what ever she wanted now...

_'Come to think of it, I never did get to see much of the house. I've only seen the first floor and a small part of the second floor. Mokuba told me there was a third floor with Kaiba's office and libraries.'_

She got up to explore the many areas of the Kaiba household.

In a mere few minutes, Tea was breathless and redfaced. The sheer number of rooms in the house was enough to make her dizzy, but actually exploring them was as exhausting as clmbing Mt. Fuji.

But, not to be discouraged, Tea went left to a door that looked promising, then placed her hand onto the brass doornob, turned it, and pushed the door open.

The room she was in was very formal and commanded respect to anyone that dared stray into it. Its walls were painted a royal blue and the chairs were so white that they made freshly fallen snow look gray and dismal.

On the walls were many pictures of Seto and Mokuba when they were younger. Tea thought it rather like a storybook that showed the progress of the character. Mokuba basically stayed the same throughout the story. Seto was a completely different account. At the beginning of this tale, she noticed that, though Seto never smiled, his eyes were still warm and full of the hope that most children have. But, as the plot progressed, Seto's eyes cooled, like lava hitting freezing ocean water. The last picture him was the year that he took over Kaiba Corp. His blue eyes were little bits of the South Pole, and a sneer curled at the edges of his mouth.

Tea turned away from the tragedy. She couldn't bear to look at a childhood spoiling before her eyes, it was much too familiar. As she walked toward the door to leave, the corner of her eyes saw a lone picture frame on a desk. She made her way to it and picked it up to observe it. The picture was very old and faded with age, but she could still easily see that it was a photo of a tall, thin man with brown hair and eyes, and a very lovely woman with charcoal hair not unlike Mokuba's. Her light blue eyes twinkled with kindness and-

"What are you doing in my office, Gardner?" a crisp voice streaked through Tea like a missile. She quickly put the frame down and turned around to face the almightiness of Seto Kaiba. The man towered over her, and compared to him, she was a meek little field mouse that couldn't escape from a very, very hungry cat.

"I was only looking around..." she said, but Seto cut her off.

"Did I give you specific orders to enter this room?" he asked her sharply. Tea flinched. His icy words stung her.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then you shouldn't be here. Get out."

Her gaze fell to the floor, and she walked quietly to the door. But as she passed him, she whispered something in his ear. "What ever happened...to sweet little Seto?"

o o o o o


	7. Yami Appears!

Chapter Six:  
Disclaimer: IF I OWNED YU-GI-OH, SETO AND TEA WOULD BE TOGETHER!

o o o o o

Tea opened her eyes to greet the new day...and had her eyeballs melted off  
by the blistering rays of the sun. She winced and turned her head, but then  
sighed. It was too late, the sun had done its damage.  
Grumbling at all of the extra lost sleep, she reluctantly got out of bed.  
She had a lot of work to do, cleaning up, helping Mokuba get ready for  
school, making breakfast and why was she in someone else's room!  
Her room was pink, not blue. This room was much larger and fancier than  
hers. She didn't have pictures of Mokuba and Seto on HER dresser. And she   
certainly didn't have Seto Kaiba sleeping in HER bed.  
She nearly gave a battlecry (and nearly broke a few of his bones too), but  
then recollections of the previous evening came flooding back.

Flashback  
clickity-click, clickity-click, clickity-click...  
Tea's muffled her scream of anguish into her fluffy pillow. She was  
exhausted, she wanted to drift off to sleep on the wonderfully soft bed and  
the flower-scented sheets...but that sound...argggh...too   
loud...too...too..OBNOXIOUS.  
She couldn't take it anymore. She flopped off the bed, got up in a flash,  
wrenched open her door and stepped out into the hallway. The sound grew  
louder, and was coming from a certain room...she stormed over to the door  
and pushed it open.  
"KAIBA!"  
Seto stared at her from his bed. A laptop was resting on his legs, and he  
was wearing a pair of reading glasses that gave him an even more intelligent  
look than he already had. Tea was too angry to care about that right now.   
She stomped over to his side of the bed.  
"Hello, Gardner," he said in an amused voice. "Do you storm into your  
boss's room in the middle of the night often?"  
She ignored that comment. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"  
"Working," he said smoothly.  
"I KNOW THAT!"  
Seto gave Tea a calm stare. "Do you mind lowering your voice a bit? You  
might wake Mokuba."  
"One to talk! I can hear your typing from my room!  
"You can hear my typing?" he rose an eyebrow questioningly. "How can you   
possibly hear that all the way over there? Your ears are big enough, but  
you would have to have a very sensitive eardrum..."  
"Shut up," she hissed between her teeth. Her fingers flexed, waiting to be able to wrap themselves around the boy's neck. "Why are you even up at this  
hour? It's two in the morning, for god's sake!"  
He shrugged. "A mild case of insomnia."  
"I can help you with that..." she said.  
"With what, sleeping pills? They don't work."  
"No. If you're willing to listen, I'll could try singing for you."  
He stared at her for a long time.  
"Singing? What would that do? I can't stand your voice as it is, why  
would I want to listen to you sing?"  
"Because, if I hear another keystroke from your room, I might kill you to  
get some sleep."  
Although Kaiba pretended to look doubtful, he secretly wondered if she  
would really do that. He sighed.  
"Fine, sing away. Though I doubt that you would make me fall asleep.

End Flashback

"I must have fallen asleep," she said to herself. She looked at his   
sleeping form and suddenly smiled deviously. This was an opportunity that  
she couldn't resist. She gave the still fast asleep Seto a little pat on the  
head and went to the kitchen.  
Kaiba is going to get a rude awakening...hehehe...stupid Kaiba...  
After filling a pitcher with icy-cold water, she walked over to his bedside  
and held it high over his head. Finally, she would have sweet, sweet  
payback.  
He looked so different with his eyes closed, she thought, remembering the  
last time she saw him asleep. Without those freezing, formidable eyes, he  
was...well, she didn't want to think along those lines. His chocolate hair  
was tousled and his mouth was softer and less cruel. If someone showed her  
a picture of him while sleeping, she would've been staring at it for quite a  
while until she knew who it was. Hey...does he even have a shirt on?  
She shook the nasty toughts out of her hed. This was Seto Kaiba. You know,  
SETO KAIBA. The guy that ripped up Solomon's Blue Eyes, the person that  
poked fun at Joey every time they met, the one that caused a whole lot of  
trouble for them. But still, as hesitant as she was to admit it, he was  
pretty fine.  
She almost couldn't pour the water on him. But that would show that she was  
weak, and that was definitely not a trait that she wanted to possess.  
1...2... she counted in her head.  
"THREE!"  
SPLASH!  
"WHAT THE HELL!" Seto roared like a lion. He was doused from head to toe  
in freezing cold water, jolted awake from his very nice dream of yelling at  
his employee by a tsunami of ice. His eyes locked with Tea's.  
"GARDNER!"She looked as though she was about to suffocate on held back laughter. And  
Seto would not have that. Oh no...that death would be too merciful for  
her...too merciful indeed.  
He tossed his blankets aside, stood up, walked up to her ever so slowly.  
He may have looked calm to any random passerby, but his eyes looked like  
blue tornados, and his teeth were bared in a snarl that would make even the  
most frightening grizzly bear piss their pants. He was angry, no, that's an   
understatement...infuriated at her for getting him at the time that he was  
the most vulnerable and defenseless.  
If she thinks that I'll let her off easy, she has another thing coming...  
"And..what exactly do you find so funny, Gardner?" he said in a low, evil  
whisper that sent shudders up Tea's spine.  
"Other that the fact that you are covered head to toe in cold water?" she  
asked in mock innocence.  
"Do you think that I like to be caught off guard?" Seto said, the volume of  
his voice increasing by the second.  
The smile was suddenly wiped off of her face and her eyes had an unreadable  
expression in them. Fear, perhaps? "No...I just thought that you deserved   
some payback after what you've done to me and my frien-"  
Sure...what great friend you have, that nasty voice at the back of her head  
said. That's in the past, you silly girl.  
"But what have I ever done to you personally?" he said, walking closer to  
her until they were inches apart.  
"You...you..." Tea stammered.  
"What?" Seto whispered in her ear. His hot breath left a tingling feeling  
on her skin...  
"You saved my damn life, that's what you did wrong!" she screamed. She  
stumbled backwards. Her eyes were glittering with tears.  
"What the hell are you talking about? I saved your life? That's the only  
thing that you can think of? How did I do something wrong by saving your  
life?"  
"How do you know that I wanted to be saved? I've wished I was dead for as  
long as I can remember, Kaiba!" she spat.  
Seto wouldn't admit it to her, or to anyone else, but her was rather taken  
aback at how she said his name like it was some type of deadly poison.  
He took a step closer to her again, almost closing the gap between. They  
were even closer than before.  
"You may have been mistreated as a child, but you still have your brother.   
I've had to live alone for as long as I can remember. How my father, my OWN  
father, almost killed me. He might have as well, for he did break my  
spirit...and no matter how many people call me a happy little cheerleader or  
optimistic, that part of me won't come back. You don't know how it feels to  
not be loved. For someone to not say that they love you and truly mean it.  
There was only one person that ever loved me. Not my friends, my father, or   
my foster parents. My mom loved me. But then she died. No matter how hard I try I will never find anything to live for."  
"So what's the point, you ask? I don't know myself. I've tried so many  
times to kill myself. I've tried, but something tells me that I have to  
keep on living and can't just run away from everything by taking the easy  
way out. But if that crate had fallen...I would have died without trying to  
kill myself."  
Seto looked at her for a painfully long time, then finally opened his mouth  
to speak.  
"You are pathetic, Gardner."  
"Excuse me?"  
"I said you're pathetic. You always use your past as an excuse. Wa wa wa,  
MY needs," he mimicked in an unnecessarily high, angsty voice, then cleared  
his throat and continued. "You have to move on or all you'll be seen as is a   
weakling, a coward." He moved closer and Tea backed away, but then she found  
out that she backed herself into a wall. She was trapped. She looked up at  
his blue eyes, those wonderfully ultramarine gems. Her face turned away to  
hide her tears.  
Seto put his hands on her cheeks and turned her face to him. He stared at   
her.  
"Don't you ever stop crying?"  
He put his hand on her cheek as if to wipe a tear away, but made no attempt  
to take his hand off of her soft cheek.  
Tea felt her heart pound at lightning-fast speed. His cool hand felt so  
nice against her burning face.  
Neither of them were prepared for what happened next.  
Seto tilted her chin up and leaned in, capturing her lips in a soft kiss,  
wrapping his other arm around her waist and pulling her close. Their bodies  
fit together perfectly. His tongue pried her teeth apart...  
Tea was in a daze. Her legs were wobbly, like someone had replaced her  
bones with gelatin. Out of nowhere, her mind screamed "NO!"  
SLAP!  
Tea ran out of the room and into hers, the tears still going down her  
cheeks. No matter how good that kiss felt, he couldn't treat her this way.  
She licked her bruised lips. His sweet taste still lingered in her mouth.  
She had so many thoughts swirling around in her head, mixing together like  
an artist's template of colors, and she needed to sort them out.  
Meanwhile...Seto stood in the exact spot that she left him in. There was a  
bright red handprint on his left cheek. The incident ago wasn't accidental  
at all. He had meant to kiss her. Did this mean that he liked her? His  
feelings were growing. But she was his employee, his very attractive  
employee. He wasn't sure if he kissed her because she was attractive, or if  
he kissed her because he like her. But if, for some unexplainable reason he   
did like her, she obviously didn't feel the same way if she slapped him.  
He sighed and went to go take a shower.  
o o o o o

Tea arrived in the park. There was a bench with a beautiful porcelain  
fountain near it. Tea walked over to the bench and sat down. It was a  
beautiful, albeit a bit chilly morning. Her watch told her that it was a  
little after seven. She didn't have to worry about Mokuba because today was  
a Saturday, and like many children, he did not enjoy waking up early.  
So she sat and pieced her thoughts together one by one. The fact that Seto  
had kissed her was a big surprise. He was cruel and cold to everyone, with  
the exception of Mokuba. But that could all be a front, he could be really  
kind at heart...  
She snorted at the thougt. Heh. Se-I mean Kaiba. Kind at heart. What a  
joke-  
"Long time no see, Anzu," a familiar husky voice reached her ears. She  
turned around to see the man that had broken her heart. He was the only one   
who would ever call her that. The only one who knew her real name, besides  
Seto. The only one who had helped her deal with her pain, besides Seto.  
The amethyst eyes that she missed so much. His thin, lanky form, the way he  
made himself seem twice as tall as he really was, and instead of the usual  
confident smirk, it was replaced with a soft smile that melted her heart.  
"Yami...?"

o o o o o

Don't kill me guys! I just wanted to add a little more zing to the story. .  
. Don't worry, this story will be worth while. Once again, sorry that it  
took so long to update! P.S: If you want a little more Tea/Yami I will add  
more, but this story will definitely come to a point when it is  
Tea/Yami/Seto. The kissing scene was rather difficult to write, because this  
IS my first story and I AM only thirteen years old, but don't let the age  
fool you...Well until the next chapter... Ciao!


	8. Hurtful Words

_Disclaimer: Whatever, you know the drill._

**Chapter 8: Hurtful Words**

She was without words, because all of the words in her vocabulary couldn't describe how she was feeling at the moment: miserable, furious, and remorseful as the recollections of her "previous life" overwhelmed her mind. Her whole body was wailing with longing, screaming at her to run over and embrace her love in a bone-shattering hug...

Her memory was still fresh and sharp.

_**Flashback**_

_Tea ran, tears whipping across her face, until she came across the empty art room. She ran to the door, put her hand on the doorknob, wrenched it open, stumbled blindly into the darkest, smallest corner she could find, curled up into the smallest little ball possible..._

_Footsteps echoed off of the art room's paint-stained tiles. She knew who it was, she didn't have to raise her head. Staring into his face would hurt too much. _

_"Tea, I..."_

_"No Yami, don't say anything else."_

_"Tea, please! Just hear me..."_

_She jumped up at this._

_"Just leave me alone, dammit! Go back to that slut and leave me be!"_

_He looked stunned, but quickly regained his composure. "You don't understand, Tea!"_

_"Tch. Like hell I don't. Go ahead and explain yourself, just try."_

_"We were practicing for the school play!"_

_"...Yami...do you think that I can actually swallow that pile of bull shit? I wasn't born yesterday, I know that you're in the play! But..."_

_"What?"_

_"That kiss wasn't in the script!" she screamed. By now, she was on her feet, hitting Yami, who was cowering under his arms. "You have feelings for her, it's not that hard to tell! I noticed how you acted around her, how your expression and everything about you was different from how you treated me! Why? Why did you my hopes up by telling me that you liked me? You knew all that you didn't have feelings for me! You just wanted to have a good laugh at me, didn't you? I trusted you! How could you do this to me, Yami?"_

_She fell down to her knees, crying weakly into her hands._

_He was silent for a few seconds, though they felt like a lifetime. Yami finally gave a sad sigh, kneeling down in front of her and tilting up her face towards his._

_"You're right, Tea..." Yami mumbled guiltily. "I didn't want to hurt you, so I said that I felt the same way about you."_

_"Why didn't you just tell me, then?" Tea choked through her tears._

_"Because you seemed so fragile already, I didn't want to break your..."_

_"It's too late, Yami. You already have..." She jumped up, still sobbing, and ran. Yami grabbed her by the arm._

_Slowly, she faced him, her anger shining through her tears. "Let me go."_

_"Tea, please..."_

_Her slap left a deafening silence and a bright red mark on Yami's face. _

_Soon all of her friends would drift away slowly because of her actions. That's when she broke down and left Domino city. With shattered friendships and a poorly mended broken heart._

_**End flashback**_

Tea shook out of her stupor and stared savagely, jaw set, into the eyes of the person that ruined her life.

"What are you doing here, Yami?" she asked sharply.

Once again, Yami was taken aback at her tone. What ever happened to the happy-go-lucky cheerleader that was once one of his dearest friends?

"I came to see you, Anzu."

"Stop it!" she yelled. "Stop calling me by my name! I hate you and I hate what you did to me! Why don't you just go back to that girl that you seemed to be infatuated with? Do you enjoy toying with me? Do you get off on messing up people's lives or something? Answer me!"

"Tea..." he sighed before continuing. The self-appointed King of Games wasn't used to apologizing, but he would just have to put his pride on the shelf...for her. "I'm truly sorry for what I did, ok? Yugi and the others are sorry as well for dumping you."

"Well," she thundered. Her voice matched well with the background. Stone grey thunder clouds were starting to collect in the sky, and a chilly wind picked up. "You know what? Tell all of those bastards to go and rot in hell. They believed you over me, without letting me speak up for myself!"

"Yes, but-"

"They listened to your lies and believed them! What kind of friends are those, huh?" with every stormy word she said, she stepped menacingly towards Yami, who was now stumbling backwards away from her.

"They're-"

"Definitely not the ones I want to have! None of them even cared when I moved away. Don't you have any idea what a slap in the face that was for me? I hate you! You're a monster!"

"Tea! _Please!_ Why is it so hard to forgive and forget?" Yami pleaded.

If she had been angry before, then now she had gone completely insane. She felt her blood go past boiling point a hundred-no, a thousand times over. How could he have possibly dared to say that to her face? "The day that I forgive you, is the day that hell freezes over with you and your stupid friends! You've done enough. So take your phony apology and shove it up your-"

Her cell phone's ringing cut her off. She picked it up and checked to see who was calling.

It was Seto.

She pressed the TALK button.

"Hi, _Kaiba_," she emphasized his name just for Yami's reaction; he looked shocked and furious at the mention of his archrival.

_"Get home." _Seto's voice commanded imperiously through the phone.

"But..."

_"No." _Kaiba never wasted words on the phone. He was always direct and to the point. "A limo is waiting for you."

Knowing that she really had no choice in the matter, she closed her phone with a sigh.

"So much for that." Tea turned to Yami. "_So_ sorry, old _friend_, but I'll have to be leaving now," she said sardonicaly.

"What are you doing associating with someone like Kaiba?" Yami said angrily. "Don't you remember what he has done to all of us?"

"Oh, you're _so_ right!" she said nastily, shoving her cell phone in her purse with unnessesary force. "And what am _I_ doing associating myself with someone like you? Don't I remember what you did to _me_?" And with that, she turned around and stomped away, scaring many pigeons out of the path.

Yami stared at her retreating form.

_I will make amends with you, Tea, or else I won't be able to live with myself! _he thought. _You were the reason that I found out who I really am. You didn't deserve the treatment that I inflicted on you._

As she neared the limosine, a chauffeur got out of the car and opened the door for her with a white-gloved hand. She muttered a quick thanks to him before sitting down.

"And what have I told you about informing me before you go anywhere?" Kaiba's voice barked. "Have you forgotten what happened last time?"

She jumped slightly at this.

"I'm sorry, Kaiba. I just wanted to get out of the house. Sometimes I want to be alone."

His eyes narrowed into arrow slits.

"Well, it seems as though you can't really follow rules, can you?" he said coldly, glaring at her ferociously. "And if you break my rules, there is always a consequence."

She ignored this, too used to his rants to care. "I met up with an old acquaintance," she said, being careful not to speak his name.

"Uh-huh. And does this acquaintance happen to go by the name of Yami?"

He knew.

"So what if he does?" she asked sharply. "How in the world does that concern you?"

"Like I have to explain myself to _you_," Seto sneered.

"I have a life too, you know! You don't always have to know where I am twenty-four seven, I'm not some kind of slave you know..." Tea's voice cracked.

"Yes. You are. Don't raise your voice to me, Gardner, and don't you dare forget that you might as well belong to me. I can fire you at any time and always find another employee to replace you in a nanosecond. You are nothing to me," he said it very quietly, but Tea heard every word quite clearly.

Nothing.

She felt her eyes burn and her face grow hot with anger-but she wouldn't take his bait.

"...And here I thought you were different," Tea whispered. "Here I thought you understood me. I'm no one's possession, Kaiba. I don't belong to anyone and I won't allow you to treat me like dirt any longer! So STOP THE GODDAMN CAR!"

The chaffeur slammed on the brakes. The force of the limo screeching to a halt nearly made Tea fall out of her seat, but she managed to keep her balance, stumbling out of the car and into a muddy puddle. It had started raining.

"Tell Mokuba that I said goodbye," she said shortly to Seto before slamming the car door in his face.

o o o

A lot of things had happened in the past month that I had spent living in the Kaiba mansion. I know that beneath that cold-hearted exterior that Seto Kaiba wasn't really the person that everyone thought he was. I knew that there was a bit of kindness in his seemingly cold heart. So I tried to unearth the good in him, but he never relented, and never gave me the key to his heart But when he had said that to me...for that one moment...I had felt like ripping his heart out, just for him to feel something somewhat close to what I thought I felt.

But as much I thought I knew him, I came to the conclusion that I really didn't know who the hell he was. But I didn't give a damn about him anymore. I just wanted to scream- at Kaiba, at myself, and at the rain that drenched me and made my clothes stick uncomfortably to my skin.

_God, I'm so stupid,_ I thought miserably, my back hunched up against the stinging cold of the wind and rain. _Why did I even try to understand him and be a little friendlier to him, when all he ever does is disregard my efforts._

_All I've ever done...everything I've tried to accomplish...was all so goddamn pointless._ The freezing rain diluted and cooled the hot tears racing towards my chin.

_Pointless. That's my life's summary right there. _I gave a hollow laugh.

Yep.

It's all so fucking pointless.

I had no idea where I was walking to, but now the beach dock loomed in front of me, distorted and watery-looking from unfallen tears. The wind now smelled like the ocean, stung my cheeks like ocean water, and even left a salty ocean taste in my mouth.

My steps on the pier sounded as hollow as my laughter. As soon as I had reached the edge, I stopped and looked down into murky and violent tossing water.

_Suicide is a coward's way out of life... _

Tossing my leg over the railing...

_Yet here I am, staring down the barrel._

Sitting on the rough wooden banister.

_Dejected, dispondant, and dismal...It seems like I'm just out of luck._

Balancing precariously between safety and danger, water and rotting wood, life and death.

_I wish I weren't a coward._

_But I am._

Dropping my purse and watching it fall through the wind and the rain and getting practically sucked into the sea like a vacuum...

_I'm just so tired of life...I'm so tired...I need a nice, long rest..._

I wonder if this is how Superman felt while flying, feeling like air is trying to push you upwards in a desperate attempt to save you...

_So tired...so sleeeeeeepy..._

The water's so close now...I could reach out with my hand and just barely touch it...

_I'm taking the coward's way._

o o o

End.


	9. Worst Case Scenarios

**Chapter Nine: Worst Case Scenarios**

_Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Yu-Gi-Oh._

_o o o_

Mokuba Kaiba woke up to a very stormy morning and a very empty house.

He didn't like being alone very much. Usually, there was someone in the house with him, be it a maid, the butler, his bodyguards, or his older brother. He was always watched over by people because, being the younger sibling of one of the most powerful men in the world, he was especially prone to surprise kidnappings...Mokuba chuckled when he thought about this, but his amusement was quickly overshadowed by panic.

It was annoying, no doubt, to feel like your whole personal life was under surveillance. But now, he was so used to not being alone, he felt especially vunerable. Over the years, the guards and extra protection became like a security blanket against the world.

He peeked through the silk curtains of a window. A fine silver drizzle misted the air outside and was picking up speed. Mokuba groaned.

Rain reminded him of the day when he and Seto had found out that their father had died in a car accident.

The sky's stone-grey clouds were suddenly illuminated by the twisted arms of a bolt of lightning, followed about six seconds (Mokuba counted) by roaring thunder. Six seconds...that would mean the storm was really close, around a mile.

Where was his brother? Where was _Tea_?

o o o

_How was it that **every **single time I say something to her, I manage to make that girl cry? _Seto scowled and crossed his arms. He was heading back home, whether or not Tea was with him.

...Well, it's not like he could have cared less about what could (or would...) happen to her, anyway. He didn't give a rat's ass about idiots, so why should she be an exception?

Seto strummed his fingers on the jet black leather seats, tapping his feet impatiently. The driver had better get him home before Mokuba woke up. His brother was terrified of thunder storms. Ever since...

He shook that thought out of his head. Don't dwindle on the past. Focus on the future.

Focus on rising to the top and overpowering all opposition, that's what his stepfather had drilled into his mind since he was twelve. "_Thinking about your past will only bring you down, it will make you weak and pathetic, Seto! Just like the rest of the losers out there!"_

Tea...what a loser.

She was just like all of the other stupid girls in Domino, thinking that she could change what everyone in the world couldn't about him.

And that could never happen. He didn't WANT to change. He was comfortable with who he was, and if she couldn't accept that, well...

Her life wouldn't be very pleasant without a job.

He smirked as he flipped open his cell phone and dialed a number. It was time to get a replacement.

o o o

Yami turned at a corner...and was at a dead end. He swore, and many nearby stray cats yowled in response.

He was lost.

_No, not lost_, Yami was probably thinking, just to save face. Just a little unsure of where he was going...

His mind was too crowded with thoughts on Tea. Tea Gardner, the woman who had stolen his heart...er...or should he say, the woman whose heart _he _had stolen and crushed underneath his heel.

He had finally reached his destination...The Turtle Game shop. Actually, a newly constructed branch of the Turtle Game Shop. Yes, it had grown over the years. After Solomon passed away, Yugi inherited it, but it was bittersweet. Yami was sad, but Yugi took the harder fall. He spent a long time in therapy.

By the time his thoughts were back on Tea, he had walked to the shop's door and had pushed it open. A bell hanging in front of the door rang. Almost instantly, Joey, Yugi, and Tristan rushed out from the back room, their faces pale and anxious.

"So..." Joey said hesitantly. "How'd it...?"

One look at Yami's sad face was enough to quiet him.

"She wasn't willing to forgive us-"

The three others groaned.

"-but I did find out that she's working for Kaiba-"

"WHAT!"

"You're not serious?" Tristan said, looking at Yami as if he had gone mad.

"You mean we came all the way from Japan to find Tea , and she's teamed up with _Kaiba_?" Joey said, in horror. He still remembered Kaiba's dog- based line of insults all too well...

"Yes, Joey. Kaiba called her and wanted her to see him as soon as possible..." Yami said quietly.

Yugi watched as Yami's eyes grew sad and blinked away tears. Though Yugi did in fact still have a crush on Tea, it didn't matter anymore. He knew that Yami was in love with Tea. The way his voice soften so slightly when he said her name...how his self-confidence crumbled at the sight of her. There was no way that Yugi was going to let Yami give up.

He grabbed Yami's hand and steered him towards the door.

"Come on."

"Yugi, where-?"

"We _can't_ give up, we just can't. If we never get to apologize to her, not only will me, Joey, and Tristan never forgive ourselves, but you'll lose her forever!"

_**Flashback**_

Tea walked into first period. At first glance, she looked like she did every other day. But there were subtle mistakes in her appearance...her hair wasn't quite as smooth and brushed as usual, and her uniform's bow tie wasn't as straight either. No amount of makeup could disguise bloodshot eyes and her pale face. She made her way to the desks that she and her friends sat together at. Yugi, Joey, and Tristan were talking to each other in low voices. Yami wasn't there...that will make things less akward between them.

She cleared her throat. They all looked up, surprised, and everyone was silent for a few seconds...

"How _could_ you, Tea?" Yugi whispered in a shaking voice.

Tea stared in confusion as he said this.

"What...?"

"...Tea..." Tristan's voice faltered, and he cleared his throat. The words, as if they had been stopped up like a hole in a dam, came rushing out in a tumble. "Yami told us that he caught you cheating on him."

The room's low bumbling and chatter seemed to disappear to Tea. Her ears seemed to have been stuffed with cotton, and her skin crawled and tingled with heat. She couldn't believe it. She really couldn't.

"How...? Why...? Who...?" she looked at her friends' faces frantically. They all said the same thing. They believed him.

"How could you do this to him!"

This time, for real, the room grew silent, and heads turned in their direction.

"Yugi, I didn't! I would never do that!" she pleaded. "Yami's lying, he-"

"Yami wouldn't lie to me! I trust him!" Yugi's eyes sparkled with tears. He flushed and stared at the ground, averting the classroom's stares, but he wasn't silenced. "And you...you go off with the next guy you saw, and you denied it after he saw you..."

No one had ever seen Yugi this angry before.

"Please, Yugi! You haven't even listened to my side of the-"

"Yami said enough for _both_ of you..." he hissed. His fists, clenched and laying on his desk, were shaking with suppressed rage. "You...you..."

"Yugi..." Joey warned.

"Tea...don't sit with us."

"Yugi..."

"Tea, please!"

_So...is that it? _she thought jerkily. _Without a second thought...believed Yami, didn't even listen to my side...after knowing him for nearly all of my life...after all of my speeches on friendship and trust...after...after..._

She slowly, mechanically walked over to the only empty seat left, next to an open window.

She didn't stop at the desk.

Terrified screams blew up in the classroom as Tea fell out of the window. The class was on the third floor.

_**End Flashback**_

_o o o_

_A/N: So far ya'll should know that it isn't Yami or Seto who calls her name..._

_so who does?_

Mokuba stumbled through the hustle and bustle of the crowd that was New York City, down the streets in search of Tea and Seto. Where could they have gone? He was nearly hysterical with fear.

And he hadn't the slightest clue that he was unconsciously going towards the place where he needed to go-towards the dock. Towards Tea propelling herself off the edge of the pier.

o o o

"Tea!" Mokuba screamed when he saw her, her arms spread open as if she were welcoming Death, slowly falling face-forward, hair snapping in the wind like Medusa's snakes. He ran towards the pier, he had to stop her, grab her shirt, do _something_-

But it was too late. The loud splash proved it.

He watched in utter horror as the ocean's murky waters sucked up her body greedily like a five year-old eating spagetti.

"TEA, NO!" As he clamber up the wooden railing, a strong hand grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards.

"Mokuba!" Seto's eyes were quite possibly as dark and as violent as the ocean. "What were you doing? How many times have I told you not to-"

"Seto! You have to help, Tea-"

Right at that moment, Seto didn't care about his reputation, how much his business could be affected, and what he was thinking about her. The only thing present in his mind, as he yanked off his trench coat, tossed it aside, and jumped in the angry tides, was to get to Tea out of there before the ocean wrapped its cold tendrils around her forever.

o o o

Tea watched through half-closed eyes as the ocean's surface slowly creeped away from her as it grew darker and colder, like someone had spilled a bottle of ink into it and let it stain the water black. Her eyes were stinging from the salt water, and a fine stream of bubbles issued from her mouth.

Drowning wasn't a pleasant way to die. Something seemed to be clawing at the insides of her lungs, and her brain screamed for air. Purple spots danced a number in front of her eyes. The pounding in her ears from the water pressure didn't keep her from not noticing her vision growing fuzzy and dark...

Every memory in her life replayed itself in her mind. As a child, working on a computer program, eyes tired and sad...meeting Yugi for the first time...becoming friends with Joey and Tristan...her as she drew a smiley face on all of their hands, their symbol of friendship...

...Staring down Seto's ocean blue eyes before he crushed his lips against hers...

Just before everything was swallowed by a sea of white light, she felt a hand grasp her wrist...

o o o

_Andi-Chan: Wasn't who you thought it was, was it? _


	10. Too Late

Hi ya'll! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but my Beta-Reader bailed out on me... she said that she had lost her interest in Yu-gi-oh, and that she couldn't help me anymore. I was so pissed off... the she said "Keep on tangling." Whatever the hell that was supposed to mean, I have no idea. All I know is that I looking for a new "reliable" Beta-Reader. The last one only checked chapter 8... And not any of the others. But if not, I can just write my story solo... E-mail me at if you are interested, or just add it in your review. I also need help learning HTML, since I don't have a clue... Now that my ranting is over you can enjoy the next chapter!

Recap: Devastated by her rejection from Julliard, Tea Gardner (17) goes out and looks for a job to support herself. Little did she know, Seto Kaiba himself was in New York- and was the one looking for a young applicant to take care of the house and Mokuba. In a surprising change of character , Seto accepts Tea into his house as an employee. But no sooner had he done this, he found out new things about Tea's surprisingly dark past. One thing had baffled him in particular- that Tea Gardner was not only an orphan (that was adopted), but that she was the missing child prodigy, Anzu Mazaki! And as If that wasn't enough, Seto is bursting with feelings towards Tea that he can't explain. Is this new feeling love, or just a silly attraction? Well we are just about to find out, as his feelings are put to the test- while trying to save Tea in the raging currents of the ocean!

Chapter 10:Too Late

Seto struggled against the force of the strong currents. It was like an ongoing game of tug-of- war with an obvious victor. But he wouldn't give up- he knew he had to stay strong for the both of them. Both of their lives depended on his will power. His will to live. He remembered his father saying so before...

A seven year old Seto was sitting on the floor drawing a picture of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, when a though struck him.

"Father?" Seto asked.

"Hm?" his father looked up from his newspaper.

"When will I die?" he asked innocently.

"Pardon?"

"When will I die?" he repeated.

"Seto, I don't know why you are asking that question."

"Please Father! I really want to know..." he pleaded.

"Seto, I don't really know the answer. You will only truly die when you are ready. When you know people are counting on your presence, and your will to live is strong, you will never truly die."  
Seto's face contorted into an expression of confusion. "Will... to live?" he asked.

"You have to believe in yourself, even if others don't. Because once you fail to believe in yourself, hope is diminished. You'll understand when you are older, Seto. Right now concentrate on living your life as a normal kid... that includes cleaning your room."

"Daddy!" Seto pouted.

"Seto..." his father said in mock anger.

Then his father pounced on him, and tickled him, the air full of laughter...

'My will to live...' He thought. If she couldn't believe in him, he would have to believe in himself. He would have to go that extra length to save them both.

He swam deeper into the ocean. The water pressure was becoming too much. He could feel his muscles straining as he continued to swim. His mind was constantly telling him to turn back; to leave her. He had more priorities in his life than her. No one would miss her. He had Mokuba to take care of... But, strange as it may sound, his mind wasn't the one telling him to swim; his heart was.

"The human heart is a weak and feeble thing, and the heart is one of a human's many imperfections... You must learn not to use it in dire situations, no matter how much it calls you. Emotions are for the weak minded." That was Gozaburo's saying...

Seto and Mokuba sat in their room crying. They had arrived at the orphanage two weeks earlier, their parents had died in a car accident. Mokuba cried into his brother's shirt until he fell asleep. Seto, unable to succumb to sleep, sat up in bed thinking of the accident. For he had been there. He had witnessed the death of his parents. He had seen his father and mother pulling out of the driveway, only to be crushed by an oncoming truck moments later.

He was traumatized by it all. He was only glad that his brother wasn't unfortunate enough to witness the death of their parents. He would be mentally scarred for life. A soft knock was heard at the door.

"Leave me alone." he stated emotionlessly.

To his surprise the person at the door barged in. It was a young girl about the age of twelve, like him. She had long brown hair that came down to her waist, and the clearest blue eyes he had ever seen.

"Don't you know how to knock?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

"Not really." she said, "But I'd love to learn!"  
"It was a rhetorical question!" he growled. "You probably don't even know what that means, you bubble-headed girl." he sneered. He didn't really mean the cold attitude, but he was sick and tired of the world.

"As a matter of fact I do! A rhetorical question is merely a question that is not meant to be answered! I come from a long line of geniuses the Maza- ," she covered her mouth in fear.

Seto just gave her a quizzical expression and shook his head. "Well, I'd really appreciate it if you would get out of my room." he said as politely as he could.

"No, I'd rather not. In fact, I want to play a game!" she said enthusiastically.

"Get OUT!" he yelled.

Mokuba stirred, opened his big eyes and looked around.

"Oh! Whose that? He's sooo cute!" she exclaimed at the sight of Mokuba

Seto immediately got in his overprotective mode and said, "Leave my brother alone!"

Mokuba instead ran towards her.

"Hi mi name is Mokuba, and I'm four years old! That's my brother Seto." he said, " Who are you?" he asked.

"Ummm... my name is A... Andrea." she stammered. Seto had a feeling that this wasn't the truth, but what did he care?

"Andrea" picked Mokuba up and started spinning him around, while Mokuba giggled with joy.

When she put him down, he gave a pout of disappointment, but started laughing again as she started ticking him. Seto watched in the background amazed. She reminded him so much of his mother.

"What about you Seto? Are you ticklish?" she asked.

"No."

"He's lying Andrea! He's worse than me!" Mokuba stated.

Seto scowled at his brother.

"Is that so? We'll just have to see then, won't we?"

She pounced, ticking him on his sides, his stomach, his feet.  
And Seto... was howling with laughter.

Andrea stopped.

"Be my friend?" she asked.

"Always." he said no longer feeling sad.

Then it hit him. She was the one in the orphanage. Her name wasn't Andrea! It was Anzu Mazaki, or Tea Gardner.

Out of nowhere a strong burst of strength flowed inside of him... and he was able to grasp Tea's hand. The rest was all a blur. How he got to the dock, how he called the ambulance when she wouldn't wake up, and of course the news broadcasters in the background filming every move that he made.

Yami, Yugi, Tristan, and Joey sat on the couch searching through the channels. They were all thinking of a way to cheer Yami up. Joey was drinking a soda, and Tristan was chowing down on popcorn. Yugi had the remote in hand pressing the buttons until an appealing program come on.

He stumbled across the news channel 6.

"Breaking news." said the headline.

"A young distressed teenager threw herself off the dock just about 45 minutes ago." said one reporter.

"Man, people are becoming more and more crazy these days!" said Tristan with a full mouth.

"Surprisingly, C.E.O of KaibaCorp, Seto Kaiba, jumped in to save her. She is in critical condition and is rehabilitating in St. Joseph's Hospital. Her name was..."

Tea Gardner.

Joey spat out his drink.

Tristan nearly choked on his popcorn.

Yugi dropped the remote so hard that the batteries flew out.

Yami jumped up and ran out the door to the shop.

"Wait up man!" shouted Tristan.

"Yea, we're comin' wit ya!" yelled Joey.  
Seto sat in the seat next to Tea's bed and put his head in his hands. He hated to admit it but right now he was scared. Scared for Tea's life. It had been his fault. He insulted her and she took extreme measures and tried to end her own life.

He looked at her face. Tubes were connected to her mouth and nose, and her lips were blue. Her face was so pale... it reminded Seto of a porcelain doll. Her breathing was very labored and quick.

But what scared Seto the most was he fact that...

The doctors said she had a small chance of survival.

They concluded that she had swallowed to much salt water. Her body was fighting for her life. They had also said that if her body gave up, she would either go into a coma, or stop breathing entirely.

The worse thing about it was that there was nothing that he could do except sit and wait. He knew that he hated waiting, but it never felt like ...this.

He recognized the feeling, it was similar to when he was worried about Mokuba. But what he didn't understand was why he was feeling this towards Tea. This was THE Tea Gardner he was talking about.

He had never really gotten to know her for what she was. Even though she claimed the obnoxious, bubbly, ditzy-cheerleader was just a cover-up, that image would never be erased from his mind. He had met her other self. The destructive part of her that caused this whole dilemma. He still thought that the optimistic Tea that he met in grade school was the same Tea in front of him.

For once in his lifetime, silence interrupted his thoughts. Tea was no longer breathing.

Yami had never run so fast in his life. He ignored the yells and shouts coming from his friends. He couldn't waste any time to wait up for them. His time was wearing thin.

He saw the faint outline of the hospital building and ran even faster towards it.

'I love her now more than ever.' he thought.

'I hurt her horribly in the past. I caused her own friends to turn against her. I had thought I was in love with Myra... but I was as wrong as I could have ever been. I never meant to hurt her. If she dies I will NEVER forgive myself for what I've done!'

He reached the door and practically flew through it. He ran all the way to the receptionist's desk.

"WHAT ROOM IS TEA GARDNER IN?" he demanded.

The receptionist was startled. "Let me check..." she said rather shakily.  
"HURRY UP DAMMIT! FOR ALL I KNOW SHE MIGHT BE DEAD ALREADY!" he shouted angrily.

"Alright, Alright! Calm down sir. She's in room 314. You have to go up four flights of stairs before you reach it and..."

Yami ran before she got to finish.

"Tea." he whispered softly.

Seto's mind went blank. He looked over at the heart monitor... and the beats were slowing. Then it finally hit him. He would never see her again. He would never hear her voice. He knew it now more than ever. Why he cared when she got hurt. Why he thought of her excessively.

Because he...

Loved her.

The monitor flat lined.

Yami ran through the door and instantly knew that he was too late.

"TEA!"

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm so evil! Review and get a quick update, if not I might take forever! Andi-chan


	11. It's Never Too Late

**Authoress Note: I know a lot of you want to rip my head off for this late update (some even want to eat my brain cough, cough), but I have my reasons. My brother just got back from Nigeria after staying for a year and I had to spend time with him... So sorry about that... Not to mention the chapter got deleted like 10 times!**

And another thing... Mokuba is 10 in this story not 8. I have to change that...

On to the story...

Chapter 11

It's Never Too Late

She couldn't feel anything. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't hear anything. She felt like an empty shell. She stood up and started running. She didn't know where she was going. She reached a room... it seemed oddly familiar.

Three children appeared in the room.

One was a boy who chestnut brown and navy blue eyes. Another was a girl with dark brown hair down to her waist and clear cerulean eyes. The last was a little boy with a mop of raven hair and indigo eyes.

Tea tried to speak but her voice seemed to be lost. Instead she just stood and watched.

"Ok let's play super heroes!" Tea exclaimed with much enthusiasm.

"I get to be the bad guy!" said Mokuba.

"Fine, fine, that means that you're the good guy, Seto!"

"Whatever. Who are you going to be?"

"Why, the damsel in distress of course!"

Seto gave a snort of laughter.

"You think that's funny, do you?"

"I didn't laugh! It must have been the wind!"

"I wanna play now!" Mokuba whined.

"Ok! Let's do it!" she exclaimed.

The game went on for some time. Mokuba kept on laughing before he said his lines. Seto's lines were all melodramatic which caused Tea to laugh as well.

Finally the monster was slain, (in other words, Mokuba was lying on the floor with his tongue out) and it was time to save the 'damsel in distress' from her imprisonment (the closet).

"Oh thank you, sir knight, for saving me! I don't know what I would have done!"

"For a princess so fair I would risk my life!" said Seto as Tea stifled a laugh.

"Thank you ...for being a great friend Seto." She kissed him on the cheek.

Seto blushed.

"W-well it was no problem Andi!"

"I trust you Seto so I'll tell you my real name it's-"

"Seto look!" said Mokuba.

Seto looked towards the window and his eyes widened.

A limo had driven to the orphanage and Gozaburo Kaiba had stepped out.

"Mokie this is our chance!" Seto said as he took his brother's hand and ran out of the room.

"Seto! Wait I need to tell you something!" she said as she ran up to him and grabbed his arm.

He ripped his hand out of her grasp. "You idiot! I don't care about you right now! All I know is that this is a chance of a lifetime and I'm not going to let you ruin it!"

He continued to run down the hallway without a second glance at her.

She sank down to her knees and said lower than a whisper, "But, I remember now... my name is Anzu Mazaki..."

Tea walked over to comfort the poor girl, but as soon as she did the scene disappeared and she was once again engulfed in darkness.

A light appeared in the darkness. She walked towards it, curiously. She continued to walk towards it when a figure appeared to block her path.

It was Kaiba.

She suddenly became very angry. Why was he blocking her path? Wasn't that where she was supposed to go?

She was confused. Why she was here is the first place? Was she dead?

She tried to get past him to get through, but it was futile.

She finally found her voice. "Kaiba...why?" she asked.

"Because you don't belong here Gardner." He said simply before he disappeared and she was alone.

She continued walking towards that light, but his words kept nagging her. She turned away from the light and walked towards the darkness again.

Then she heard it.

"TEA!"

Seto closed his eyes. No! This was not happening! She couldn't... how dare she do this!

"Dammit Bitch! You're pathetic even in death..." he mumbled.

Yami narrowed his eyes. How dare he speak of her like this! Tea... his Tea was dead, and Kaiba was insulting her!

"How dare you insult her Kaiba? You can't even give her respect in death! What kind of man are you?" he demanded angrily.

Ignoring Yami, "Wake up!" he yelled. "This isn't a joke anymore Gardner!" he pleaded, his voice softening.

Nothing happened.

He buried his head in her shirt, "I didn't think it was possible for me to love, I was beginning to believe you Gardner. I mean I'm Seto Kaiba! But you came along and proved me wrong. It's been a short time... but only you could make the blood pound in my ears. And then I knew. I've reached an all time low. I've fallen in love with the one that I supposedly hated."

Yami's eyes widened. This wasn't... couldn't be Seto Kaiba. Seto Kaiba wouldn't be holding onto Tea's shirt like it was the only thing left.

The monitor had been flat for a while now, it had attracted some doctors.

"Mr. Kaiba? I'm afraid I have to call the time of death. It's too late." He said shaking his head.

"It's never too late..." he whispered.

"Call it." was all he said before standing up and nodding to the doctors.

"I've fallen in love with the one I hated." Was what she heard.

Her eyes widened. She understood. She really_ didn't_ belong here.

"Time of death: Three twenty-"

Beep.

"What was that?" asked the doctor

Beep.

"I don't believe it she's-!" Yami stated astounded.

Beep.

"Alive?" Seto turned around and glanced at her.

"Tea?" asked Mokuba who had just appeared in the doorway.

She opened her eyes. It was so bright! Where was she?

She sat up and looked around.

Kaiba. Normal.

Yami. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Freaky doctors in white cloaks. Not so normal.

"What are you all doing here? Could you please get out of my room?" she said sleepily.

The doctors nodded and walked out.

"Tea?" Mokuba asked again.

"Yeah." She responded

"You're alive!" he exclaimed happily.

"I- I'm... alive?" she said. She couldn't remember anything about what had happened!

Yami was overcome by a flow of emotion. She didn't die... she didn't die...! He ran over to her bedside and engulfed her in a hug. "Don't ever so that to me again... alright?"

With surprising strength, Tea pushed him away. "You didn't seem to care if I died or not before! So you think that all it takes to gain my forgiveness is a hug and some sappy words?"

Yami's eyes widened. "W-what?"

She narrowed her eyes, "You may be the King of Games Yami, but other than that you are surprisingly stupid. I thought I'd already laid it on the line for you. We. Are. Through."

Yami sighed. "Very well. If that is what you want... then so be it." He made sure that he was out of earshot before he uttered the last of his words. "Yami Motou doesn't give up that easily..."

HWYLYTMK

"Gardner? Did you hit your head or something?" Seto asked, suddenly needing an urge to break the silence.

"Pardon?" she said.

He sighed, "I mean Motou just apologized to you... and you just blew him off."

"If you only knew what he did to me..." she whispered, hatred dripping off her every word. "Can I go now? Hospitals make me sick."

Seto noticed how she changed the subject but decided to let it alone.

"Let's go!" said Mokuba.

Tea swung her feet over the bed and tried to walk. But as soon as she did, she fell flat on her face.

"Ouch!" she muttered. "Why can't I walk?"

"The blood hasn't completely reached your legs yet, you idiot." Kaiba said with a smirk.

"Shut up, it was a damn rhetorical question!" she retorted.

"You obviously need help in more ways than one..." he murmured.

Tea's eyes suddenly mirrored pain. "You know... about what you said to me earlier? How you said I was nothing to you... I... don't think I can forgive you right away. It'll take some time to heal my wounds.

Seto walked over to her. "You really think I care if you forgive me or not?"

_So he doesn't care about me..._ "No... I just thought...never mind."

She gave him her hand, but instead of taking it, he lifted her up on his back.

"What are you-?"

"You can't walk otherwise." He said simply.

"Oh...I"

"And you really need to lose weight, pregnant cow, or you might break my back." He added.

Tea rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask you to carry me, idiot."

"I'll do what ever I want, cow."

"Why you little-"

"Now, now let's not get testy..." he said.

She muttered something rather unflattering and rested her head on his shoulder as he carried her down the stairs.

HWYLYTMK

"You mean to tell me that Tea rose from the dead, like some kind of zombie!" exclaimed Tristan.

Yami had met Tristan, Yugi and Joey outside the hospital. When Kaiba carried Tea down the stairs, he decided it was his time to slip away unnoticed.

He couldn't shake away the feeling he got when he met Kaiba's icy eyes. His eyes were filled with the usual look of disdain; but there was an expression in Kaiba's eyes that he knew too well.

It was the look that always sparked a challenge.

HWYLYTMK

"You can let go of me now." She said with a hint of annoyance.

"I think I've heard just about enough from you, Gardner." He growled.

"Hump!" she huffed, "Please tell me that we're almost there! I can't bear being in such close proximity with you."

"Likewise," he retorted.

Tea let out a growl, "Mokuba! How can you stand this irritable, self-centered, egotistical-"

"We're here." Seto said abruptly ending her rant.

"Finally!" Tea cried.

"Who's that?" Mokuba asked.

Tea followed his gaze towards a rather attractive young lady. She had long raven hair, shinning emerald eyes, and was wearing a business suit.

'DAMMIT!' Seto thought. He'd made a huge mistake!

_Seto Kaiba could have cared less at the moment. He didn't care about that idiot any more. She was just like all of the others. She wanted to change him. He knew that it wasn't possible. He didn't WANT to change. He was comfortable with who he was. If she couldn't accept that, well she could go to hell._

_He smirked as he picked up the phone and dialed a number. It was time to get a replacement..._

"_Hello. May I know who's speaking?" asked a female voice._

"_This is Seto Kaiba. I need a new maid by this afternoon."_

"_Certainly. Can I have the last eight digits of your credit card?"_

"_48294204."_

"_Please note that when hiring our housekeepers, you are required to house them for a minimum of one month. Do I have your word?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Thank you. We will be sending Myra Banks around four o'clock."_

"You must be Seto Kaiba." said the girl as she approached him. She held out her hand for him to shake, but when she saw the girl on his back, she put it down.

Tea squinted. She knew that girl from some place or other. But she couldn't match a name with her face.

"I was the maid assigned to this house." She explained.

"What?" Tea and Mokuba said simultaneously.

"Mokuba, take Gardner inside the house." He ordered.

Mokuba nodded, took Tea's hand and led her to the house

"I don't need a maid anymore. Go back to where you came from." He said giving her his coldest glare.

"Sorry Mr. Kaiba. There will be no changes. I will be with you until the precise moment that I decide to resign, or until the contract ends." She said in a business-like manner.

Kaiba shook his head. "I don't remember signing any contract."

"It was your spoken word, not a contract." she said as she looked at her nails in a bored manner.

"I'll be staying and that's final. Show me to my room please." She demanded.

"No one can talk to me like that!" he seethed.

"If do think otherwise, I will have to sue." She said ignoring his statement, "Show me to my room."

"Find it yourself. Stay out of my way." He said before walking back to the mansion, still holding Tea on his back.

"Mokuba, who was that?" Tea asked.

"I don't know, I just remember Seto saying that after you, he wouldn't hire anyone else."

Just at that moment, Seto stormed into the house with a vicious scowl on his face.

Myra entered right after him with a triumphant grin on her face. She turned towards Tea.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I should ask you the same question!" Tea snapped.

"I'm Myra Banks, this boy's new baby-sitter!" she said.

"We're going to have so much FUN!" she said as she raised a hand to ruffle his hair.

Mokuba smacked it away, "Stop treating me like a kid..." he mumbled.

"Aww! The boy thinks he's big! How cute!" she giggled.

"You heard him! He's a big boy, so stop treating him like a kid!" Tea yelled. There was some thing about this girl that irked her. Like she's done something top her in the past...

"Myra Banks will not be yelled at by some little brat!" she said, completely ignoring Tea.

Tea felt her blood boil. This was the girl who was partial in her former heartbreak. She was the girl who ensnared Yami into her trap. Myra Banks, the girl who she could not forgive as easily as she could Yami.

Myra looked her in the eyes...a wicked smile crossing her face. "You're Tea Gardner aren't you?"

"Yes, have a problem with that?"

"I hope that you don't mind what I did back in high school... it's too bad Yami choose me."

"Whatever."

"But, Seto Kaiba is a lot sexier... I would just love to teach him a thing or two about..." She said wispily.

"Hello! We're in the presence of a young boy!" Tea said. But in truth, she was scared... this girl was after Se- Kaiba?

"Let's go out for some ice cream, Mokuba." She said.

"Gladly." He said. He didn't like Myra... at all!


	12. Tea Steps Up

Hey! Once again, long time no see... I'm currently revising all of my chapters (in this story) with the help of my beta InsaneShadowFan... I'm sorry that this story hasn't been updated in a long time, but I needed to change some things... I'm not done yet, but I think that you deserve a new chapter from all this waiting. Oh, and I suggest that you read all the above chapters before you read chapter 12, it'll be less confusing.

Chapter 12

"Tea, I don't want you to stop being my babysitter! I don't like that girl that Seto hired... she's too conde- condes-"

"Condescending?" she suggested.

"Yeah, that! I really don't like her... I wish that she wasn't here. "Mokuba looked at her with wide eyes, "What was big brother thinking? You're already my babysitter. I don't need another one and-"

"Mokuba, it's okay! I m sure you'll grow to like her. Anyway, she really likes you and I'm sure she'll be a great babysitter!"

'_I wonder who told me that lie. She's a lying, idiotic, materialistic, slutty bimbo who would do anything to take what I already have!'_ She thought.

'_That includes Kaiba.'_ her inner-voice added. She decided to ignore that...

Her reunion with the Kaibas wasn't exactly what she had imagined. Hadn't she nearly died? Yet, Kaiba looked as impassive as ever when she had awoken to see his face... Didn't he care about her at all?

_I don't know whatever gave me that idea. I obviously don't mean anything to him if he didn't care that I was on my deathbed. But I... I..._

_... want to mean something to him._

_What had I expected? That a suicidal attempt would_ _cause him to actually like me? Even though he did kiss me on his own accord. And that kiss... was... was... the best._

She shook of herself out of her stupor. She really needed to stop thinking about this. It wasn't right... "Mokuba, what flavor do you want?" she asked once they reached the counter.

"One bloody babysitter massacre, please!" he exclaimed.

"That's funny Mokuba! But what do you really..."

"Coming right up, Mr. Kaiba!" the lady at the counter said.

'_What is this world coming to?'_

HWYLYTMK

"You should, like, call her man!" Tristan exclaimed.

"Yeah, tell her that ya sorry properly!" Joey added.

"How could you just leave her at the hospital like that?" Yugi asked incredulously.

"She hates me..." Yami said, with his head hung.

"But if ya know women, they change their minds! I heard that afta' you drink a lot of saltwater, you get delusional you say things that you don't mean!" Joey exclaimed. (A/N this is actually true. My sister almost drowned in the Ocean, and after the life guard save her, she thought I was a banana for the next 2 hours...)

Yami sighed. "Look, to prove a point... I'm going to call her on her cell phone. Then you guys have to promise to leave me alone, and stop badgering me..."

_571-453-0002_...

Bring!

Bring!

Br-

"Hello? This is Tea speaking... may I ask who's calling?" said Tea's voice.

"Umm, Tea this is Yami and I-"

"Yami? What nerve you have to even call me after all of this!" she screamed.

"I know but-" he started.

"It's so not my fault! You chose to leave, so stick with your decision! Don't ever call me again!"

Yami shook his head at his friends. "You see what I mean?"

HWYLYTMK

When Tea and Mokuba arrived at the house, they found it to be filled with smog...

"What- cough- what is going on in here?" Tea yelled.

"I was wondering when you two would get back!" Myra said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"What have you done, Myra?" Tea asked, angrily.

"It's not that big of a deal... I just wanted to cook something extra special for my first day of the job." She said with a plastered smile on her face.

"You don't expect us to eat that garbage, do you?" Mokuba asked.

"It's not garbage, you little bra- I mean Mokuba. It's food that all growing boys need. You most certainly don't need that Ice cream, do you? What's that flavor anyways? I've never seen it before..." she trailed off.

"It's a bl-"

"It's Black Cherry! It's a new flavor!" Tea finished for him.

She crossed her hands over her chest, "Well in this house young man, I will not allow you to eat such junk! Throw it away!" She screamed at him.

"No! We just walked to the store to buy ice cream! I'm not throwing it away just because you say so!" he stuck his tongue out for the added effect.

Her fake smile turned into a grimace, "Why you little BRAT!"

"Stop calling him a brat! He's a good boy, you just don't know how to handle kids." Tea said, "Come on Mokuba, lets go upstairs and find something to do. I'm sure that Myra needs to be alone to cook her garbage- I mean food." Mokuba snickered as she led him upstairs.

Myra watched them leave with a dark look in her eyes._ 'Seto Kaiba will be mine whether you like it or not Tea... I'll make sure I run you out of this house once and for all. You'll regret the day that you ever crossed paths with Myra Banks!'_ she thought.

HWYLYTMK

"So what do you want to play Mokuba?" Tea asked.

"I want to play cards! But not Duel monster cards... just regular cards. And I want my brother to play!" he exclaimed.

"Okay, but you have to go and get your brother so we can-"

Mokuba shook his head, "No... I want you to go get him, he'll listen to you."

Tea looked puzzled, "Why do you say that?" She ruffled his hair, "Your brother probably wouldn't listen to any one but you."

"I know, but just trust me." Mokuba said. "He _will_ listen to you."

'_What the hell is that supposed to mean?'_

Tea shrugged and walked down to Seto's annex office and knocked on the door. "Kaiba, are you in there?"

There was no response.

"Kaiba?" When there was no response, she pushed the door open to find Seto slumped over his desk, asleep.

'_I would have never thought that the great Seto Kaiba falls asleep on the job!'_

She noticed a conveniently placed Polaroid camera on the shelf. It had three pictures remaining.

'_Perfect.'_

HWYLYTMK

Kaiba woke up to a couple of white flashes.

'_What the hell is going on here?'_ he thought. He lifted his head off his desk to see Tea standing before him with a camera aimed at him.

He said up straight in his chair, angry that she'd seen him in such a vulnerable position, "Gardner, what do you think you are doing?" Kaiba demanded.

Tea rolled her eyes, "I believe it's called blackmail... but then again, I could be wrong." she said sarcastically.

Seto growled, "Give me those pictures, Gardner!"

"You have to do something for me to get them back, Kaiba." she said, licking her lips.

Seto's eyes widened ever so slightly. "And what would that be?"

Tea walked slowly, he could almost say seductively, over to his desk. She leaned over so that her mouth was to his ear.

"I want you..." she started.

Seto's eyes widened again, and he almost hit himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

"...to play cards with Mokuba and me." she finished, and then stepped back. "That is, if you don't want pictures of you dozing off in the tabloids tomorrow." she walked out of his office, to join Mokuba in the other room.

Touché.

'_Who ever thought that Gardner could pull something like that off?'_

HWYLYTMK

Mokuba paced back in forth impatiently, "Is he coming or not?"

Tea held her head in her hands, "Mokuba, stop that! You're making me dizzy..." she thought about what he said for a moment before responding, "I really don't know. But if he doesn't come, we'll have just as much fun together."

Mokuba sighed, "I wish that big brother would take some more time off... I really miss him."

She looked at him sympathetically. "You know, as much as I hate to admit it, I kind of miss arguing with that pr- I mean your brother."

Mokuba looked up to her with wide eyes, "Tea, do you like my big brother?"

Tea was taken aback, "O-of course I do. He's your brother, what's not to like?"

_Shall I make a list?_

Mokuba shook his head, "You know what I mean. Do you _like _Seto"

"NO!" She responded a little too quickly, "No, I don't."

Mokuba's shoulders sagged slightly, "Oh. Because I thought when you get married, you can be my real big sister."

Tea laughed, "Sorry, Mokuba. He's not really my type. He's just my employer."

_Stop lying._

Mokuba rolled his eyes. She couldn't possible_ be_ more obvious. "Ok big sister Tea. I'll believe you," he lowered his voice, "For now..."

"Pardon?"

Mokuba looked at her innocently. "Nothing, Tea."

She sighed, "Look, I don't think that your brother is–"

"Talking about me again, Gardner?"

Mokuba jumped up in the air from happiness. "Really Seto? You'll play cards with us?"

He sighed. "Well, I do have status reports to do... and staff rearrangements–"

Mokuba looked utterly dejected. "W-well... go ahead and do it Seto. It's more important..."

"–but I think I can pencil you in." He finished with a smirk.

"YAY!" He jumped up and gave his brother a hug.

Tea watched the two brothers with admiration and a little envy. Mokuba had Kaiba, and Kaiba had Mokuba no matter what... but what did she have? A pair of dead parents, a lost company, and a bunch of so-called- friends? She had no one... Kaiba had proven that fact. She was nothing to anyone...

When they broke apart, Tea hid her pain and sadness behind a bright smile. She wasn't going to burden anyone with her problems. "So what game do you want to play?"

HWYLYTMK

"Two Fives." Kaiba said as he put one card down with the most unreadable expression that Tea had ever seen.

Tea looked at Mokuba. He shook his head. She had a feeling that he was lying, but she didn't know if she wanted to risk it... "Kaiba." she looked at him with an impenetrable stare, " I have a feeling that you're lying..."

He shrugged. "Go ahead, your loss. If you want to lose go ahead and risk it."

Deja vu.

Flashback

Domino High School; Lunchtime

"COME ON YAMI! YOU CAN BEAT HIM!" Tea screamed at the top of her lungs. "KAIBA DOESN'T STAND A CHANCE!"

Kaiba smirked, "Hn. Looks like your cheerleader's delusional... there is no way you can possibly beat me!"

A smirk appeared on Yami's face to rival Kaiba's, "Don't rejoice yet Kaiba. I place two cards face down and end my turn."

"You have no monsters on the field, your life points are wide open, and you place two cards face down? Go ahead, your loss. If you want to lose go ahead and risk it. Blue-eyes Ultimate dragon! Attack his life points directly!"

"Not so fast, Kaiba! You've fallen into a trap! My depolymerization card separates your blue eyes white dragons and sends them to the graveyard. But I'm not finished! I use my grave robber card to steal all monsters sent to the graveyard in this turn! Blue eyes white dragons! Wipe out his life points!"

End Flashback

"BS, Kaiba!" Tea exclaimed.

Kaiba grimaced slightly and collected all the cards from the pot. "I'll get you back for that Gardner..."

"Eat your words, Kaiba! One six." she said as calmly as she could.

"One seven." Mokuba said looking around at both Seto and Tea. Neither of them were paying attention to him. Both of their eyes were on each other.

"One Eight." Kaiba said.

"One nine..." Tea hid her hands from view, a tell tale sign that she had played her last card.

"BS!" Seto exclaimed, a triumphant expression on his face.

Tea looked dejected as she slowly moved her had toward the pile. But instead of taking it, she flipped the card over...

It was a nine of hearts.

Tea punched the air. "I win! How does it feel Kaiba to be beat? I am the champion!"

Seto coughed. Tea thought it sounded distinctly like "fluke."

She raised an eyebrow. "A fluke, was it? I believe that I won square and fair, Kaiba."

"Whatever I you want to believe Te–Gardner. I have work to do." he walked towards the door, "Don't think this is the end. Enjoy your victory for now, but I'll beat you next time."

Tea followed him, limping. "I'm not letting you get away that easily!"

Mokuba shook his head. Even _he _could plainly see that the two were made for each other.

HWYLYTMK

Tea silently followed Kaiba to his office still elated at beating him in a match fair and square. She figured that since he played duel monsters so much, he lost all ability of winning regular games. She would definitely get a lot of mileage out of her victory, that was for sure.

Kaiba stopped abruptly at his office door before punching in a four digit pin on the keypad. _1025... _Tea made a mental note of the number in her head. Whatever it stood for, it must have been pretty important. It was then that she realized that she'd never been inside Kaiba's secret office. She was filled with curiosity. Was there any particular reason that his office had a keypad? She noticed that it was the only room in the vast mansion that had a keypad.

She blushed,_ Even Kaiba's room doesn't. _

He turned the doorknob quickly and pushed the door open. Tea's breath hitched up in her throat. It wasn't like she imagined at all. It was...too boring.

The walls were an off-white, with a royal blue border. His desk was a rich mahogany with an office chair behind it. A bunch of file folders were piled neatly on his desk, along with a flat screened computer. A cream colored couch was set off in the corner. There wasn't one thing that she found even remotely interesting about his room. Not one thing...

Kaiba noticed her the dismay on her face right away. "I never let any of my staff members go near this room. I see no need for decorations."

"Oh... I see." She looked at him, "But how can you do any work in here? I mean... it's so uncomforting."

"I manage." He said simply as he sat down in his office chair and opened his laptop.

The silence stretched on for a painfully long time. Tea desperately needed to talk to someone, even if it was the most unsociable person on the planet. "So... what kind of work do you have to do?"

Kaiba smirked. He would have fun confusing her. "Critical analysis of our data programing, Employee reconfiguration, sketches for our new duel disks, and calculating our net profit."

To his surprise, Tea didn't look confused at all. She actually looked...smug? "Can I help?"

"I seriously don't think you'd be capable, Gardner." He smirked, "It would take years and years of experience to figure most of that out. I don't expect that from a cheerleader."

She only smiled, "Trust me Kaiba, I'm capable."

HWYLYTMK

"So, in order to make the duel disk more efficient, you need to simplify the computation. The more simple it is, the better the system will be." Tea said as she made the finishing touches to the duel disk sketch. "I also think you should make more of a variation on the color scheme. Blue, red, and white get kind of redundant." Tea concluded. "You agree?"

Seto didn't speak for several moments, he was transfixed. How did she know? She knew more about technology than he himself did! This was the second thing that she had bested him in. He was in awe, but she wasn't about to show it. "Pretty good... for a_ cheerleader."_

She rolled her eyes, "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

He didn't answer her. He was still confused. How much more was there to know about this girl? What else was she hiding from him?

Tea waved her hand in his face. "Hello! Earth to Kaiba? Anyone home?"

Suddenly he grabbed her hand and forced her to face him. "How is it that you know all of this?"

Her eyes darkened, "My father...he used to make me create new technology for his company. I spent days and nights working on things that were even too advanced for our time. And every time, my father would beat me because my work wasn't good enough for him. Can't say I miss him too much..." _Why am I telling him all this? What's compelling me to tell him! This is SETO KAIBA!_

Kaiba thought abought the information that she'd just relayed to him. He remembered her briefly mentioning her tyrant of a father, but he had no idea that he made her soldier the wight of his company. She must have been no older than six years old. Not even he had started that early...

"Well, now you know..." she glared at him, her eyes holding a new intensity, "And if you call me a cheerleader again, I'm going to have to hit you..."

Kaiba rolled his eyes."Ooh. I'm so scared."

Tea's eyes widened slightly. Something was wrong with Kaiba? Was he...teasing her? Normally he would have turned back to his computer without sending her a second glance. Had he changed?

When her she finally had control of her voice she said, "You should be. I'm going to go and cook dinner now... any requests?"

Kaiba turned back to his computer screen and continued typing. "I don't really care."

Her heart sank. _Same old Kaiba..._

_HWYLYTMK_

As Tea limped down the stairs she caught sight of something that angered her.

"That's wrong. Now as your punishment you will cook dinner for the rest of us. Do I make myself clear?"

Mokuba stuck his tongue out at her. "No. I'm not going to do it."

Myra looked as though she was about to hit him, but luckily for him she just grinned. "If you don't I can sue your brother for mistreatment."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "You can't do that. I may be a kid, but I'm not stupid."

"I'll do it." she seethed. "I'm not afraid to sue your brother for all he's worth."

Mokuba suddenly looked scared. "Fine... I-I'll do it."

She ruffled his hair roughly. "Good boy. I expect dinner to be on the table when I get back, okay?" She walked out of the kitchen but stopped at the steps leading to her room. "And if one word of this gets to your brother, I'll make your life a living hell."

Suddenly, Mokuba began to cry. The tears rolled down his cheeks, and he fell on his knees. Tea could feel her heart breaking with each sob he emitted.

She limped down the rest of the stairs and straight to him. She held him in her arms and rocked him back and forth. "Shhh. You should stop crying. It only shows that she's won. I don't know why she's here, or what she wants to do. But I'm going to find out."

He sniffled. "B-but why did Seto hire her when we have you?"

_That's a damn good question._

"I don't know, Mokuba. But look? WE can make dinner together! Wouldn't that be fun?"

Mokuba nodded and gave her a hug. "Tea?" he whispered in her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I love you."

Tea felt a strange feeling in her heart. A feeling that she hadn't felt since as long as she could remember. She'd been on her own for so long... she'd forgotten what it felt like to hear those three simple words. She hugged Mokuba tighter. "I love you too Mokuba."

HWYLYTMK

By the end of the afternoon, Tea and Mokuba were covered in every cooking substance imaginable. They had such fun cooking dinner. Remarkably, the kitchen stayed remotely clean. Tea couldn't remember a time that she had laughed so hard. She didn't feel as though the weight of the world was on her shoulders anymore. She felt totally_ carefree_.

Tea smiled, she wanted things to stay the same. "Wait here Mokuba. I'm going to go and call your brother, 'kay?"

"Okay!" He gave her the thumbs up.

She had no idea what he really meant by it, but she gave him the thumbs up as well. She limped up the stairs and up to his secret office. Surprisingly, the door was already open. She was about to call his name, but she saw something that made her stop in her tracks.

Myra held her hands behind her back innocently, though she was anything but. "So... Seto– "

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "You're not permitted to call me that, Banks."

"Whatever you say Kaiba dear." She brushed him off with a flick of his hand. "I wonder... why do you keep that girl, Tea is it? There must have been a reason that you called me. Or... do you like her?" She shot a look towards the door and Tea locked eyes with her for a split second before she turned back to Kaiba.

He was shaken with rage, "Would you just leave me alone?"

She placed both her palms on his table with surprising force. "I'm going to stay right here until you answer my question. You can't do anything about it. So answer me."

He raked his fingers through his hair in annoyance. "Our relationship is fully professional. Nothing more."

Tea felt her breath hitch up in her throat. _I don't know what I expected from him._

"I don't believe you Kaiba. I see the way you look at her when you think no one else is watching. I knew you back in school Kaiba. You were_ nothing _like you are now. She's changed you." Kaiba was silent for a moment and Tea thought that it was the end of the conversation. She turned to leave, feeling utterly dejected. The wall that she had carefully built around her heart over the years was slowly eroding. So many disappointments. So much heartache...

Kaiba looked up, clearly aggravated, "You're right. Perhaps I do feel something for her... or perhaps I don't. But that doesn't concern you at all. Leave my office you inane excuse for a girl."

She let out a scream of fury and stormed out the door. Tea looked at her with triumph, "I can let you borrow a dictionary. I'm sure you still need to find out what 'inane' means."

Myra tossed her long ebony hair. "You'll see Gardner. I'm going to win and you'll be devastated."

Tea raised an eyebrow, "Win what? I believe the fight for a brain is a lost cause." Tea feigned surprise, "Oh! Did I say that out loud?"

Myra, clearly defeated, stomped down the hall and into her room.

Tea pushed the door open and invited herself in. "Kaiba?"

He looked at her, his look of disgust slowly ebbing away. "What do you want Gardner?"

"How do you feel about..."

"What?"

"...er– eating dinner right now." She said. She could have kicked herself. Perhaps he didn't notice her little slip-up. Perhaps he didn't care for what she said at all.

But unluckily for her, nothing ever got past Seto Kaiba.

He slowly rose from his chair and walked over to her. His steps were slow and calculating making it painful fro Tea to watch. When he got close to her she took a step back, slightly afraid. What was he plaining to do?

He grabbed her wrist lightly. "What were you going to say?"

She looked at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "I-I'll ask you after dinner."

"I'll hold you to your word."

Tea turned towards the door insanely happy to get away from him. What was this feeling deep inside her chest?

TBC...

Please Review and let me know what you think of Chapter 12! Luv YA!

Andi-chan


End file.
